My Life Would Suck Without You
by CanonAntithesis
Summary: They haven't seen each other since high school graduation, but a chance meeting between Troy and Sharpay at a bar on a hot summer night in NYC creates a pivot point which will change their lives forever. Penname changed from GimmeABeat to CanonAntithesis
1. Fancy Meeting You Here

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 1: Fancy Meeting You Here**

Time period: Approximately nine years after high school.

Setting: New York City.

Summary: They haven't seen each other since high school graduation, but a chance meeting between Troy and Sharpay at a bar on a hot summer night in NYC creates a pivot point which will change their lives forever.

FYI: Previously titled Pivot Point, but the new title suits it better, plus it's currently my favorite song and the video is hilarious.

Okay, that sounds all well and good, but it's basically a good old-fashioned baby fic with a lot of Gabriella bashing and lots of shopping (after all this is New York City). I think this one will be fun.

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. This fanfiction is based upon the Disney movie _High School Musical_. All characters and situations other than my own are sole property of Disney Corporation [Copyright©2006]. The title of this story is obviously taken from the song title of the same name by Kelly Clarkson and is owned by RCA Records [Copyright©2008].

Sharpay stormed into the dark bar, and then immediately shrank back when a blast of stale cigarette smoke and cheap beer hit her square in the face. However, Sharpay Evans wasn't one to back down. Steading herself for a fight and staving off the nauseating odors of the bar, she struck quite a figure standing in the dimness of the mid-town dive. Immediately, half a dozen interested heads turned her way, male and female alike. Her black Dior mini-dress with a discrete hot pink piping was a far cry from the overwhelming pink she preferred in high school. The dress perfectly accented her long, honey-blonde tresses. She loved the richness of this color and how it blended flawlessly with her bronzed skin. Richard, pronounced Reee-shard, her colorist, had outdone himself this month. She must remember to take Boi in next week for _his_ highlights. The little Yorkie never liked to be upstaged. Her four-inch strap-on Gucci sandals brought her height up to a respectable 5' 7" which she desperately needed in the cut-throat and height-biased world of haute couture. When her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she spotted her quarry, teetering precariously on a stool at the bar.

"What, _exactly_, do you think you're doing here?", Sharpay blasted when she reached the bleary-eyed red head.

"Ooooo... hi, Sharpay. Watter you doin' here?", the woman slurred as wine sloshed from her glass. Her blood-shot eyes and smudged make-up made her look much older than her twenty-two years.

"Don't you _hi, Sharpay,_ me, Gisele! You have a photoshoot at ten tomorrow...", then, pausing to look at her Cartier diamond-encrusted wristwatch, she corrected, "make that _today_ at ten, Gisele, and redheads don't deal well with hangovers." She reached over and rubbed off a dark splotch of mascara from under Gisele's eye. "Oh nooo, you're going to look all splotchy", she tsked under her breath.

"Whaddya have ta drink, lady?", asked the burly bartender.

"Oh, I'm not drinking", Sharpay replied dismissively.

He insisted. "Even if you're the DD, youse still got ta buy a drink. Either that, or don't let da door hit ya on da way out."

"Alright already. I'll take a Cosmopolitan."

"Sweetie, Sex and the City's been in reruns for ten years now", the bartender commented dryly. "I'll make youse sum'un much better." Then, he wagged his unibow at her, but before Sharpay could let loose with a barrage of appropriate insults, she felt a small movement behind her and for the first time became aware of the male presence standing there.

A garbled voice hiccuped, "I think she looks pretty hot, *hic*. Don't ya, babe?" He was commenting, rather belatedly, due to his obvious drunkenness, to Sharpay's statement regarding Gisele's appearance.

"Oooo, Troysie", Gisele crooned dramatically while awkwardly managing to bat her wobbly and loose eyelashes at him. One of them was barely attached and the other was crooked.

Sharpay whirled around to confront the man, fully prepared to lambaste him with her biting tongue and severe wit. Unfortunately, when she completed her dramatic pivot, she fell dumbstruck, mute in his presence.

"Troy? Troy Bolton?", she finally managed to gasp and Sharpay Evans never gasped. "What are you doing here?"

It had been nine years since high school and with the exception of her brother, Ryan, Sharpay hadn't seen any of her fellow Wildcats since graduation day, which was quite a feat considering she attended U of A with quite a few of them. And that's just the way she liked it, with the notable exception of one, still exceptionally gorgeous, and currently, extremely wasted, Troy Bolton.

Before Troy could reply, the bartender plopped down Sharpay's drink on the bar. "Here ya goes, Sweetie. See if this doesn't curl youse toes?" Sharpay looked over and realized he was waiting for her to try the drink. In fact it looked like Troy was waiting for her taste test too, albeit through slightly bleary eyes. Reluctantly, she picked up the glass and took a healthy sip. Her brows lifted in appreciation.

"Wow, this is actually pretty good. What is it?"

The large, hairy man leaned in close to her, as if to share a confidence and said in a stage-whisper, "It's a Sloe Comfortable Screw. You look like you could use one, Sweetie." She automatically reached over and downed half of her drink while eying her old classmate. Damn, that hairy man had hit the nail right on the head.

"We're drownin' our sorrows. Isn't that right, Troysie-woysie?" Gisele's irritatingly squeaky voice cut through Sharpay's little Troy Bolton fantasy when she answered Sharpay's question from half-a-page earlier. These drunks had a horrible sense of timing. The model slipped off her stool and leaned heavily into Sharpay's back. Her long and lanky 5' 11' frame, (in flats --- Sharpay hated her), had slumped onto Sharpay with her head perched directly on top of the little blonde's. _Stop that, you'll ruin Reee-shard's work._

Pushing back to try and buck the Amazon off, Sharpay hissed, "Look, Gisele! We don't have time for this. I'm taking you home right now before you blow my, ... I mean _your_, big chance. I'm your manager, remember? You're supposed to listen to me." Then, shaking the drowsy model by her bony shoulders, she added, "Elle doesn't spotlight just anybody."

Troy placed a surprisingly steady hand on Sharpay's shoulder and breathed into the shell of her ear. "Why don't you join us, Sharpay? We've only just started."

Something twisted low in her belly at the vibration of his voice on her skin and her legs instantly turned to jelly. She felt as wobbly as Gisele looked. The spell, however, was quickly broken, when the skinny bitch's voice drove itself directly into her happy place. "Yeah, Sharpay! Join us! We're celebrating!"

"I _thought_ you said you were drowning your sorrows", hissed Sharpay as she finally managed to dislodge Gisele from her back. Troy gracefully caught her before she hit the ground and placed her back on the barstool.

"It's actually a little of both." Troy stopped there and seemed a bit hesitant to continue. "You see ... my divorce is final today and well...,", he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Chad set me up with Gisele here ... to celebrate, you know?"

"Chad Danforth? From high school, Chad Danforth?" Troy nodded reluctantly, still embarrassed. "How on earth does Chad Danforth know Gisele Snow, one of the hottest new super-models on the circuit?"

"Oh, that's easy", supplied Gisele who seemed to be getting her second wind. "My Aunt Sally, and Chad's wife's mom went to school together. So when I moved here, to the Big Apple *hic*, she called her, who called her, who told him ..." She trailed off and then, looked up with a deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes. "W-where was I?"

"Never mind.", Sharpay handed her back her wine glass with a indifferent wave of her $100 manicured hand and turned back to face Troy with a look of genuine sympathy, or it could just be the glimmer of an opportunity.

"So things didn't work out with you and Gabs?" She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"How did you know I married Gabriella?"

"Who didn't know about the nuptials of the great Troy Bolton? After all, it was the biggest wedding ESPN ever covered."

Actually, it had received front page coverage in the sports section of the New York Times. And coincidentally, it was the one and only time Sharpay ever read that section of the paper. That day she'd virtually memorized every detail of the article in an uncharacteristically masochistic angst fest. It wasn't all torture, however; she enjoyed the 30 minutes it took to deface Gabriella Bolton, née Montez's face, the photograph of her face, of course. Sharpay actually thought she looked much better with a mustache.

"So do you still play for ... that basketball team?" Okay, so maybe she didn't memorize _every_ detail in that article --- only the important ones, like the fact that Gabriella had worn a prêt-à-porter wedding gown.

Troy wasn't so drunk that he couldn't smile at the memory that question brought up. "I see you're still closely following sports. And no, I don't play for ... _that_ basketball team, anymore. I'm retired from professional sports." He stretched out his right knee with a groan. "Forced retirement", he added, pointing to his knee.

"Is that why you divorced? Couldn't support her in the manner to which she had become accustomed?", she hedged.

"Hell, no", he roared unexpectedly. "Gabby's a high priced Wall Street lawyer. She makes way more than me." Then, a cloud seemed to pass over his face and he slumped a little before continuing. "No, she divorced me for something far different."

Sharpay was nearly falling off her stool. This was better than a soap opera, so it should have come as no surprise when she heard herself say to the bartender, "Another Sloe Screw for me and another of whatever they're having", indicating to Troy and Gisele.

"Those are really good up against the wall", Troy commented nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?"

"I thinks he talkin' 'bout your Sloe Screw, Sweetie. That right, Buddy?" Troy nodded and the bartender continued, "I prefer them between the sheets, myself."

"Please stop with the sexual innuendos in the drink names, okay? It's starting to become disturbing. And could you leave, please? This is a private conversation", Sharpay pointedly told the bartender.

Vaguely, it registered to her that Gisele was now lying face down in a bowl of cocktail nuts, but since she didn't appear to be in any danger, Sharpay decided to concentrate on Troy. Propped on her elbow, she leaned in closer to Troy, hoping to get back on tract with his juicy story of an elicit affair with some cheerleader or something.

"So...." she urged once the noisy wait staffer had left.

Troy took a long draw on his beer before replying sadly, "Okay. She divorced me because I was ... impotent."

Sharpay's eyes grew wide and she blinked once, ... twice, ... three times, before responding with a squeak, "Impotent?" It had been the bane of her existence since moving to New York that all the really cute guys were all gay or taken, but impotent? That was a new one.

Troy rubbed a tired hand over his face and looked confused for a second. "Wait, wait... that's not right." He shook his head to clear out the drunken cobwebs. "Not impotent. Ummm, it's male factor infertility --- that's what she called it."

At Sharpay's confused look he leaned in close and whispered, "You know, I can shoot, but I can't score."

Oh God, sports analogies. If possible, her eyes grew even wider and she took a huge gulp of her drink. "And she divorced you for _that_? If anything, I'd think that would be a bonus. You know, not having to bother with condoms or chemical birth control." Sharpay, who never intended on reproducing, found this new information strangely appealing.

"Yeah, well, we wanted to start a family and when she found out I couldn't give her one, she divorced me."

By this time Sharpay was sporting enough of a buzz to feel very uninhibited.

"Sooo...", she said with just a hint of seductiveness in her voice, "how about we get out of here?"

Troy glanced over Sharpay's shoulder. "What about Gisele?"

"Damn, I forgot about her."

Therefore, ten minutes later, Sharpay and Troy were waiting on the street with Gisele propped up between them, waiting for a taxi. The fresh air had cleared Sharpay's head and she realized what she would do.

She would tell Troy good night. After all, it wouldn't do to start anything with him now --- she'd be nothing more than a rebound, anyway.

Then, she would take Gisele home, tuck her in bed and hope that she would be functional enough for that photoshoot later today.

Yep, that would be the prudent thing to do.

But then again... Sharpay Evans had never been accused of being prudent.

"Here's a fifty for the fare. Make sure she gets safely to her apartment", she told the cab driver as she handed him the money and Gisele's address before slamming the door on the passed-out almost super-model. Smiling innocently, she turned back to Troy who was swaying somewhat dangerously on his feet.

"You know, Troy... I live right around the corner. What say we go to my place?"

Yep, definitely not prudent.

**TBC**

Here's the newest one. Please R&R. Thanks.


	2. How Did I Get Here?

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 2: How Did I Get Here?**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

They were giggling wildly when they stepped off the elevator and onto the eleventh floor of Sharpay's apartment building. They shared the elevator with a tiny older woman who was inadequately curbing her enormous dog. The huge Basset Hound was lavishing his amorous affections on Troy's leg for the entire ride and nothing the three humans were doing could convince him to stop. When the doors opened on Sharpay's floor, she grabbed Troy's hand and literally pulled him away from his unwanted suitor. After the short walk to her apartment, they both suddenly became quiet as she fumbled around for the key. Finally, she opened the door and ushered him inside. It was pleasantly cool in the apartment and she closed the door, separating them from the hall light and plunging them into darkness, the only light coming from the uncovered window which lined the entire outside wall of the living room.

Sharpay had every intention of being a good hostess and showing Troy around her magnificent, if small, Central Park West apartment, of offering him something to drink, of talking and getting caught up on their mutual lives since high school. Instead, after she relocked the door, he flipped her around and slammed her against it plunging his mouth down on hers. Her mouth responded hungrily to the thrusts of his probing tongue. He stroked and tasted and tested her until he was forced to pause to catch his breath. Lowering his head he pressed his face into her neck. While her hands closed around the back of his head and her fingers combed through his hair, he kissed his way up to her ear.

"This is crazy", he whispered.

"Very."

"It's rash and reckless and..."

"Totally irresponsible."

"But I can't help it."

"Neither can I."

"I want so much to..."

"I want you to", she sighed as his hands slipped inside her dress and covered her breasts.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Unng", Troy moaned as the blindingly bright light of the bathroom assaulted his retinas. Instinctively, he closed the bathroom door behind him as he entered. After all, until very recently, he had been married to a very light sleeper. Therefore, he left the bedroom still bathed in delicious darkness.

He groped his way over to the sink and ran water into his cupped hands, gulping down the tap water to combat his alcohol-induced dehydration. The cool liquid also felt great on his face and helped him wake up and remember with some embarrassment how he came to be in Sharpay Evans' bathroom at five o'clock in the morning. Despite his chagrin, an involuntary smile snaked its way across his face when he thought about his former schoolmate. As he splashed more water on his face, Troy let out a groan when his back overstretched. The bathroom was practically wall-to-wall mirrors (Sharpay wasn't modest), so he had no trouble getting a look at the long scratch marks streaking down his back.

"Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat." Wasn't that what the feisty little blonde had said to him last night?

Damn, but this night was just what he needed. Gabriella had never been as uninhibited as Sharpay ... Gabriella. Okay, stupid idea to think of your wife, correction, ex-wife, when you're standing naked in another woman's bathroom. Troy sank down onto the toilet seat as he remembered some of the more salient aspects of the past six months dealing with Gabriella and their _issues_.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look?", Troy asked with a roll of his eyes. He walked into the bedroom, wearing nothing but a towel tied around his waist. His hair was still wet from the shower and he was vigorously toweling it dry with small hand towel. He looked over at his wife of three years and continued to chuckle.

Gabriella Bolton was completely naked and standing on her head against the wall of their bedroom. Her eyes were closed in mediation, but she started to giggle at his light-hearted reprimand.

"It's supposed to help", she replied, without opening her eyes. "I read that if I stay upside down for ten minutes, it keeps ... you know ... stuff from leaking out."

Since her face was already red from standing on her head, it was difficult to tell if she was blushing. However, knowing Gabby as well as he did, Troy knew she had to be. Even after having dated through high school and college, and now married for over three years, Gabriella still had difficulties talking openly about sex. Usually, Troy found it cute, but lately, it was just getting on his nerves.

"Semen, Gabby. It's called semen and it's not a dirty word."

"I know ... I know", she said quietly as she tipped her legs back and let gravity pull them to floor, slowly rising to her feet and reaching for her robe at the same time. "I just ... I didn't think it would be so hard to get pregnant. To think, those couple of times, in college when I freaked out at the thought of being pregnant and now that I really want a baby, I can't have one." She was starting to get a little choked up and Troy automatically went to her and silently pulled her into his strong arms.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Damn, dude! You look like shit!", Chad exclaimed as he slid into the booth where Troy was waiting.

It was their standing monthly lunch date where they could eat fully loaded hot dogs, drink beer and stay caught up with each other's lives.

"Gee, thanks for caring, Chad", Troy replied sarcastically as he took a sip of his beer.

"Only a true friend could talk to you like this. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry... I'm just ... well, things at home aren't going..." Troy trailed off into silence and Chad misinterpreted Troy's reluctance to talk about his personal problems to fit the typical male mold.

"This is about sex, right?"

Troy's head shot up. "Is it that obvious, man?"

If they'd been women, Chad would have put a comforting hand over Troy's to show his unwavering support, followed quickly by a proffered tissue to staunch the soon-to-be flowing tears. They weren't women, of course. Therefore, Chad stretched out his legs and leaned back against the booth seat, stating sagely, "It's only obvious to someone who's been through it."

Troy's interest was peaked. After pursuing an on-again, off-again relationship throughout college, Chad and Taylor had married right after graduation and were both, seemingly, very happy being married professionals with nothing ... like children, tying them down. Troy had never heard either of them mention wanting to have a baby. Taylor was right on track to becoming the power behind the throne in the political arena. She'd majored in political science and had decided that the really interesting jobs were behind the scenes and was currently a trusted staffer for The Honorable Chelsea Clinton, the junior senator from New York.

Chad, on the other hand, was a graphic designer with a thriving business in SoHo where he specialized in pithy slogans, a love he'd began in high school with his creative t-shirt designs.

"You and Taylor? I had no idea."

"Oh yeah, it usually happens when she's gettin' all stressed out over some new legislation they're pushing for in DC. But as soon as things calm down, she's back to her lovin' self, so don't worry about it, dude."

"What? Wait a minute... What does new laws getting passed have to do with trying to get pregnant?"

Chad deadpanned, "What does not being interested in sex have to do with trying to get pregnant?" And then, he answered his own question, "Absolutely, nothing. They're polar opposites, in fact."

"Are we talking about the same thing?"

"Apparently, not. Who's trying to get pregnant?"

"Me, uh..., Gabby, you know, us, ... as a couple. We both want a baby, but it's just ... taking longer than we thought." He trailed off, staring into his beer. "I thought it'd be..."

"...Wham bam, thank you ma'am", Chad provided.

"Gee Chad, I'm so glad to see that Taylor's intelligence has rubbed off on you."

"Sorry, man. Seriously though, what's going on?"

"Well, we've been trying for over a year now and it's starting to wear me down."

Chad's brow shot up, but he refrained from saying anything stupid by saying nothing at all.

"You wouldn't believe what I'm going through. At first it was very romantic; we went away for the weekend to Acapulco... it was great ... like a second honeymoon, but when _it_ didn't happen right away, Gabby started to become obsessed. She bought books; she researched online; she bought these kits to predict when she was fertile; and she _made_ us have sex every 48 hours." Troy finished with this statement as if it was some earth-shattering indignity.

"_Made_ you, man?" Chad was trying not to smile at his friend.

"It's harder than it sounds."

Chad's mouth formed a broad smile. It was the "_harder_ than it sounds" statement that tipped him over the edge.

"This is serious, Chad. Right now, she's on this kick about taking her temperature. Gabby read somewhere that if her temperature goes up, it means she's more likely to get pregnant. So now I could get a phone call anytime and she expects me to just drop everything I'm doing to go rushing over."

"Damn, Troy! You've got to be the only man in America who's complaining about getting booty calls."

"You don't...", Troy was interrupted by his cell phone. He looked at the screen and groaned. "Up by half a degree... I gotta go, man."

Chad, still grinning widely, replied, "A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Three weeks later, Troy was sitting at his kitchen island, spreading peanut butter on a flour tortilla. Even though he lived in New York City now, he still preferred tortillas over bagels and he still ate them the way he did when he was a kid. Peanut butter on a warm tortilla was his favorite breakfast.

Gabriella walked in silently and Troy noted that she was already dressed for work in a tailored, navy pinstriped Brooks Brothers suit with a white blouse underneath. This meant she was seeing new clients today. She always wore the suit with trousers when meeting someone for the first time and Troy hated it. He preferred skirts, but Gabriella was self-conscious of her legs; she thought they were too short and stocky in appearance and so, went to great lengths to hide them.

She went immediately to the coffee pot and poured herself a large mug of black coffee. Troy knew instantly that something was wrong, but said nothing. One of the first things Gabby had done when they decided to try for a baby was change her life style. It wasn't that she was unhealthy before, but Gabriella always took things to the extreme. Therefore, she immediately started loading up on foods containing folic acid. Troy didn't even know what that was, but apparently it's in leafy green vegetables, so they've both been eating like rabbits for over a year. Then, she went cold-turkey on junk food and all refined sugars and white flour. Troy said an absolute no to that one. He wasn't going to give up his deep-fried twinkies for anyone. Finally, she gave up caffeine: coffee, tea, sodas, chocolate, everything. And like most things with his wife, she took her caffeine abstinence to the extreme --- no coffee of any kind because even decaf still had trace amounts of caffeine. Yet here she was... silently sipping on a cup o' Joe and pointedly avoiding his gaze.

"Morning", Troy said flatly. They'd had a huge fight last night and gone to bed angry, with Troy sleeping on the couch. The subject was, of course, pregnancy or rather, the lack there of.

"Hi", she replied curtly.

He couldn't resist. "What's with the coffee?"

She looked up at him with a stern expression on her face. "This isn't going to work."

_Finally_... Troy thought. He'd been secretly waiting for her to admit that they should try something else. He knew how much this meant to her ... to both of them, actually, and knew he had to handle this discussion just right.

"What would you like to try next?", he finally asked.

There, nice and neutral. That didn't lay the blame on either of them.

Gabriella took a deep breath and replied in a eerily calm voice, "I want a baby and obviously you're not able to give me one."

Well, never mind about blame laying... she'd just drop a brick wall of blame right on his head.

"Me?", Troy snapped angrily. "Why's it suddenly my fault?"

"This isn't sudden. I've suspected it for a while now."

"That makes absolutely no sense, Gabby. I've suggested that we see a fertility specialist ... for both of us, not just me. And why is this my fault? This could just as easily be yours, y'know."

"No, it can't." She was still using that placid tone which was really starting to grate on Troy's nerves.

"And why not?" He stood now, enjoying the height advantage that this gave him over her.

She looked him square in the face and said, "I know there's nothing wrong with me because I've been pregnant before, Troy. I has to be you."

Troy slumped back down on the bar stool and asked in a shaky voice, "What? When?"

"Back when I was in high school."

He had a sudden flash of their first night together. It was everything he'd ever hoped it would be --- sexy, romantic, sweet, wild, scary, ... everything all rolled into one night. They were on a trip to Mexico that their parents had given them for graduation ... _from_ high school. His face darkened at the realization and his eyes met hers.

"You told me I was your first, Gabby, because you were certainly mine."

"Well... in my heart I was."

"That's lame, Gabriella. Tell me the truth. You had a baby?"

"What?", she asked incredulously. "Of course, not. I said I was pregnant. I never said I had a baby."

She must have lost the baby. Troy felt like scum and instantly started apologizing, "Oh God, honey, I'm so sorry. I..."

"Relax, Troy. Let me explain." She took the stool next to him and reached over, placing her hand over his. "The real reason my mom transferred to Albuquerque in our junior year was to get me away from an old boyfriend. We'd already broken up, but she didn't want to take any chances, especially after..." Gabriella took a deep breath. "I didn't have the baby, Troy, because I had an abortion. Having that baby would have ruined my future --- high school, college, career. You can see that, right?"

Troy was stone-faced as he pulled his hand out from under hers and stood up to put some distance between them.

"I don't even think I know you anymore, Gabriella. First, you flat-out lied to me when you said you were a virgin. Then, you lied, by omission, when you didn't tell me about being pregnant before. I-I need some time to think about all this."

"I, personally, don't have to think about anything. I want a divorce. I want a baby and you're not able to give me one, so I want a divorce. I'm 28 years old; I should have already had ..."

"...a baby! This isn't about a baby, Gabriella! It's about you and your fixations. This isn't about having a baby; it's about completing a project and checking off another box on your little to-do list."

She squinted at him in confusion. "What?"

Troy was on a roll and continued with much enthusiasm. "Oh, yeah. Tell me I'm wrong. Your whole life is about checking off those little boxes." He started counted off items as he said them. "First, you got that summer job at Lava Springs because it would look good on college apps. Check! Then, you were accepted for the early program at Stanford. Accepted, Gabriella. As in you _applied_ for it. Getting in that program wasn't just some random happening. Check! You graduated with honors from Stanford. Check!" He could see she was about to say something, but he cut her off first.

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but it's just that everything is part of this big master plan of yours. Law school ... Check! Intern program ... Check! Law firm ... Check! Oh and I almost forgot about me. Husband ... Check!

You don't want a divorce because we can't get pregnant, Gabby. You want a divorce because you can't stand to fail at something. It's just like dropping a class on the last drop day so it doesn't effect your GPA. Well, I'll tell you something else, wife of mine, I'll give you that divorce, but not for your reasons. I'm divorcing you because you're a quitter. Yeah... when things aren't going well for you, you quit them. Got pregnant at an inconvenient time --- just quit. Not getting pregnant when you want --- just quit the marriage. Fine with me, then I quit too!"

With that, he stormed through the kitchen and out the apartment door.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

They received an uncontested divorce six months later and Troy had been so depressed that he'd actually called Chad for advice. That's how he'd ended up at the bar with Gisele and how he'd ended up meeting Sharpay again.

Sharpay... God, he still couldn't believe he'd actually slept with Sharpay Evans, not that they'd actually done that much sleeping. He had to smile at that. Sex was definitely a great tension reliever.

Troy opened the door and allowed the light to spill out into the bedroom and across the prone figure of the small blonde sleeping peacefully on the bed. She was hugging a pillow and had her leg draped across it the same way she'd been hugging him a few minutes ago. Her shapely thigh was clearly visible as was the naked hip attached to it. He was starting to feel parts of his body reacting to her again when he suddenly shut the door on those emotions.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ This wasn't what he had needed. What was he thinking? Sharpay didn't care about him. There was a reason he'd only ever been with one woman in his whole life (well, two women now). Troy Bolton didn't do hook ups or one-night stands or casual sex. No matter how awesome the night had been. _Stop that!_ It just wasn't him.

Angrily, Troy dressed in his abandoned clothes which he'd discovered on the bathroom floor and stormed out of the apartment without a backwards glance.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

I couldn't resist making Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Bill and Hilary, a senator. I even checked to see if she would be old enough and in the time frame of this story, she'll be in her mid-30's.

Golly, that Gabby sure is a bitch. It's fun to just let loose on her, y'know.

And sorry that Sharpay didn't have much of a part in this chapter, but the next one will be all about her. Promise.

I forgot to explain about the drinks in the first chapter, so here goes.

A Cosmopolitan is 4 parts Citron Vodka,2 parts Cointreau or Triple Sec, 2 parts Cranberry Juice, and 1 part Lime Fresh Juice. It is also the drink of choice in the tv show, Sex in the City.

A Sloe Screw (which sounds just like 'a slow screw', not accidentally) is 1 1/2 oz Sloe Gin and orange juice or a screwdriver made with gin. The funny stuff comes in with all the variations on this one.

Here goes: **Sloe Comfortable Screw**- 1 oz vodka, 1 oz Southern Comfort, 1/2 oz Sloe Gin, fill with orange juice. **Sloe Comfortable Screw Against the Wall**- 1 oz each of vodka, Southern Comfort and Sloe Gin, fill with orange juice, top with Galliano (I have no idea what that is), **Sloe Comfortable Mexican Screw Against the Wall**- 1/2 oz each of vodka, Southern Comfort, Sloe Gin and tequila, fill with orange juice, **Sloe Comfortable Screw Between the Sheets**- 1/2 oz each of vodka, Southern Comfort, Sloe Gin, rum and brandy, fill with orange juice and **Sloe Comfortable Fuzzy Screw Against the Wall**- 1/2 oz each of vodka, Southern Comfort, Sloe Gin peach schnapps, and Galliano, fill with orange juice.

I think the bartender was just way too horny and like Sharpay said, ... enough with the sexual innuendos in the drink names.

Oh and finally, yes, Troy said he was impotent, but he was drunk at the time and said the wrong thing. He actually has (or thinks he has) "male factor infertility" doesn't mean he can't 'get it up'. It just means that his sperm count is low, so no babies. Can't get more explicit than that. And of course, as we'll soon find out, that was wrong anyway.


	3. You've Got to Be Kidding Me

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 3: You've Got to Be Kidding Me**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

"Girlfriend! Girlfriend!..."

Sharpay's eyes shot open at hearing the irritatingly whiny voice of her personal assistant, Donny. Why had she ever let him touch her cellphone? He'd gotten hold of it one day and programmed his own personal ringtone into her Razor. The jerk!

"...It's me, your humble personal assistant."

Sharpay scrambled out of bed and clutching the sheet to her body, ran out into the living room where she spied her purse, sitting on the floor next to the front door. She'd once made the mistake of walking out here with nothing on, but quickly realized her error when, the next day she saw a sign hanging from the apartment across the way from hers: "Show us the ta-ta's, again." That was the disadvantage of that spectacular window and her awesome view of Central Park. It was an awesome view ... when you stood as far as you could to the right side of the room and looked as far as you could towards the left. Apparently, it also offered her neighbors a spectacular view ... of her. So now, she covered up.

Donny's annoying voice continued to drone on. "... Ready and able to assist you. Now, just pick up the ..."

"I'm here, I'm here ... just shut up already." She stumbled back into her bedroom.

"Sharpay! Oh my God, where are you?!" Donny was in absolute panic mode.

"What are you talking about, Donny?" God, her head hurt. She looked blearily around the bedroom, sure she'd forgotten something important. Not remembering what it was, she shook her head to clear it ... okay, that was a bad idea ... shaking ... moving ... her head was a bad idea. Sharpay walked slowly and with as little body movement as possible into the bathroom.

"I'm at the photo shoot, Sharpay." Sharpay stared blankly at herself in the mirror. "You know, the Elle photo shoot and you need to get here ... like 20 minutes ago."

_The __Elle__... Oh my God, indeed_, thought Sharpay. "What?" She sounded almost as panicked as Donny. "Where's Gisele? Is she there?"

Sharpay immediately ran back out into the bedroom and started pulling on clothes as fast as she could.

"Oh, she's here alright." His tone didn't sound encouraging.

"I'm on my way!"

And in three minutes flat she was flying down the hall toward the elevator. It wasn't until the doors opened and she saw the same little old lady with the huge dog from last night that she remembered.

_Troy..._

Taking a deep breath, she decided she'd worry about him later. Right now, she had to save her job.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Stomping into any Midtown Manhattan office building wearing flip-flops, yoga pants and an over-sized t-shirt would never go unnoticed. However, to stomp into the corporate offices of Elle magazine dressed this way, turned more than one head ... and not in a good way. Sharpay ignored them all and marched directly to the studio of Eric Cramer, all six foot, two inches of him. He could have been one of his own models, but instead, chose to photograph them. Eric was rock-hard, gorgeous, straight and, to Sharpay's disgust, happily married.

The photographer had his back turned to her when Sharpay approached. However before she reached him, a small figure blocked her path and quickly pulled her over into another room.

"Donny", Sharpay hissed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to save what's left of my future", he snapped in a bitchy voice. "Gisele's over there", he indicated to a curtained area in the corner of the large room. "The make-up artist is trying to make her presentable. I showed up at her apartment when I was supposed to and found her how she is now ... with a raging hangover, horrible complexion, ... red, ... blood-sho..." Donny trailed off as he began to take in Sharpay's own appearance, but she cut him off before he started making any connections.

"Let's go see what can be salvaged."

Sharpay walked across the room with Donny trailing closely behind her. "Be nice, Sharpay. Gisele's had a horrible morning."

She started to raise an eyebrow, remembered how excruciating any unnecessary movement was, and stopped. Instead, she simply said, "So have I, Donny."

Despite the fact that Donny was a flaming homosexual, Sharpay could swear he had a crush on Gisele Snow.

"Okay, Gisele... talk to me. How are you feeling?", Sharpay inquired, not without some sympathy.

Gisele was lying back in what resembled a dentist's chair. To her, it probably felt like one too. Her finely arched brows shot up at the sound of Sharpay's voice. Both she and the make-up artist, a short, elderly woman, groaned simultaneously.

The MUA tsked at the young red-head, "Don't move your face, dear. This job is hard enough as it is." She was applying Gislele's foundation with an air-brush and it was critical that the model remain completely still.

"Sharpay...", Gisele said in a whisper. Even her voice had a hangover. Thank goodness she didn't have to sing for a living. Of course, her beauty wasn't doing much for her this morning. "I feel horrible; how are you? What happened after..."

Noticing Donny's keen observation of their conversation, Sharpay whispered back to her. Sharpay always thought the CIA should use Donny for covert operations. He'd make a great spy as long as he didn't have to keep his mouth shut about what he knew. "We'll talk about that later, Gisele. Right now, we just need to get you functional." She shot the make-up lady an inquisitive look.

"Give me five more minutes. It's not as bad as it seems, deary. I used to do work for my brother-in-law, Mort. He's a mortician --- no cracks about his name, please. Anyway, working with Gisele, here, isn't that different than working with the dead." She gave Gisele a critical look and amended her statement. "Except they have better hair."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

After conferring with Eric, Sharpay started feeling better, well, not physically better, but emotionally better. Eric said he had a way to salvage the shoot and Sharpay was willing to let him roll with it.

At twenty-eight, Sharpay's career was finally starting to take off. She came to New York right after graduating from college ready to break into show business. Her parents had wisely and cruelly let her know that they would not support any frivolous career aspirations in which she didn't have a chance in hell of succeeding. She'd received more kindly critiques from casting directors.

In retrospect, Sharpay could now see that Vance and Darby had been correct. After all, she wasn't the child who had the full scholarship to Juilliard. That was her brother, Ryan. He sailed through the performing arts conservatory like he was born to it and was now choreographing an off-broadway play for Kenny Ortega. After years of working with tween stars on The Disney Channel, Ortega was going back to his roots and staging a revival of "Newsies" that would be opening in six months.

After much soul-searching and months of living off Ryan, Sharpay had finally come to a tremendous realization. She wasn't destined to become an actress. Her true talent was actually recognizing talent in others. Yes, all those years of high school watching endless auditions with Ms. Darbus, including her freshman year of college where she came back to help Darbus, showed her her true calling.

Therefore, Sharpay picked herself up by her bootstraps, or rather her one good pair of four inch Pradas and got herself a job with Noble Model Management, the largest agency in New York City. Of course, she didn't start at the top. Frankly, she was still nowhere near the top even now. No, she had started her career as a ... 'Donny'. She'd been personal assistant to managers who worked with actual models contracted to the agency. And after years of being 'Donny' to her bitchy bosses, she felt she had served her time. Not to say that she was bitchy to Donny... well, not anymore than he deserved. Therefore when she, personally, discovered Gisele working at the cosmetics counter of Dilliard's in the Cottonwood Mall back home in Albuquerque, Sharpay knew she was on her way. She had other clients, of course, but Gisele was the one who'd take her to the top.

*click* *click* *click*

"Wonderful, Gisele, absolutely wonderful, darling. Keep doing what you're doing."

*click* *click* *click*

"Beautiful!"

Eric kept clicking away on the camera while the wind machine tried to blow life into Gisele's lifeless hair and pulsating music playing in the background. Sharpay and Donny were standing off to the side watching them work.

The personal assistant leaned over and whispered into Sharpay's ear. "I guess I don't have the _eye_ because I think she looks like absolute crap."

Sharpay shifted over to answer him while at the same time trying to cover her morning breath. "And that's why you schlep coffee for me and he makes enough in one week than we do in a year." Although privately, she had to agree with him, Gisele looked horrible.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Doreen Wadsworth Remington was a self-made woman ... after her first husband, forty years her senior died six months into their marriage, that is. To her credit, she created Noble Model Management from the ground up. And as such, she didn't take any crap from her employees. Therefore, when Sharpay came dragging into the office after the photo shoot, Doreen was ready for her. Sharpay was right; Donny was an excellent spy. So when Sharpay didn't show up at the shoot and Gisele looked like she spent the night inside a vat of wine, the first thing Donny did was call Mrs. Remington.

"Sharpay, dear? May I have a moment with the two of you?" It was phrased as a request, but everyone knew one of Doreen's command performances when they heard one.

Sharpay realized immediately that she was in trouble when Doreen directed her and Donny to the hard-back chairs sitting directly in front of her desk, rather than the overstuffed, upholstered seat where they normally had their _moments_.

"I like you, Sharpay."

_Oh God, that's what she says when she's going to fire someone._

"You remind me of myself", Doreen continued.

_Well... she'd never heard of Doreen saying that before. Maybe there was still hope._

"You're driven, a self-starter, and more than willing to take a sledgehammer to an opponent's kneecap, if the need arises. And most importantly... I don't have to worry about you feeling unfulfilled as a woman if you don't have a baby by the time you're 30."

Everyone knew that Doreen was still reeling over the lose of her protégée, Sarah. Sarah had started as Doreen's own personal assistant and within a year, Doreen was grooming Sarah to be her replacement. Then, Sarah did the unthinkable; she fell in love, got married and was pregnant within six months. That's when the ultimate betrayal occurred, Sarah quit in order to stay at home with her baby.

"Well...", Sharpay guffawed, "I don't know if I'd actually resort to a sledgehammer, ma'am, but you're right about that baby thing. I hate kids."

"Absolutely... all that drooling and pooping", Doreen added with a groan.

Donny started to snicker, but caught himself up short when he saw Doreen's frown.

"Sorry", he mumbled.

Doreen stared coldly at Sharpay, "Unfortunately..."

_Oh Lord, here it comes._

"...It seems you've experienced a bit of a set-back this morning. Gisele... she's young, she's inexperienced, and... she has that certain freshness that the public loves right now. And most importantly... she's under contract. I can't fire ... _her_."

Sharpay sucked in a breath. She could feel the floor vibrate from Donny's jumpy knee next to her. This is it. Take it like a trooper, Sharpay. "I understand, ma'am. I'll have my desk cleared out by the end of the day."

Donny whimpered, but didn't say anything.

Doreen smiled ... for the first time, Sharpay realized. "You don't understand, Sharpay. I'm not firing you ... yet, but you have six months to pull that girl back together and get her on a major cover."

"C-cover?", Sharpay quivered. It took a year and a half to get Gisele to the inside of Elle. How was she supposed to manage a cover in only six months?

"That's right. The cover. And if you can't manage that... then, I think your understanding will be correct."

"Yes, ma'am." Sharpay rose and walked to the door, preparing to leave, with Donny, as usual, on her heels.

Doreen started shifting papers on her desk, obviously preparing to scare the life out of another employee. Without looking up, she added, "And Donny... there's the little question of your loyalty."

They both stopped short and Donny turned shakily and asked, "Ma'am?"

"A good personal assistant supports his boss, he doesn't go behind her back and _tattle_ on her. This isn't a school playground, Donald. Therefore, your continued employment is directly related to Sharpay's success. The two of you are a team."

Donny nodded vigorously. "Yes, ma'am."

Turning back to Sharpay, Doreen added, somewhat anticlimactically, "And Sharpay? Go home and change clothes. I don't _ever_ want to see you dressed like that again."

"Yes, ma'am."

After they exited Doreen's office, Donny silently followed Sharpay back to her cubicle which, even though it was twice the size of his, was still a cubicle.

"Wow", he sighed as he slumped back against the cabinet, "I felt like someone walked across my grave and she was wearing stilettos."

Sharpay whirled on him and ignoring his pithy comment, said, "This isn't over, Donny ... not by a long shot." She picked up her Prada tote and was about to leave when she had another thought. "And Donny? My laundry needs to be picked up, Boi has an appointment today to have his fur highlighted --- reschedule it, I have a date tonight with Rick in accounting --- It's our second date, but I can tell already it's not going to work out, so cancel it and _don't_ reschedule ... Let him down easy. And ... I'll be expecting my afternoon Starbucks to be waiting on my desk when I get back. Understand?"

Donny, who was frantically writing down everything she said, mumbled, "Yes, ma'am", without looking up.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Sharpay was still thinking of more asinine errands for Donny when she entered her apartment a little after two o'clock. It suddenly hit her how tired and grimy she felt and she immediately stepped out of her flip-flops as she walked toward her bedroom and her awaiting shower. She had only gone three steps when a shuffling sound drew her up short.

She listened closely and heard it again ... coming from her bedroom. Initially, her heartbeat quickened thinking that it must be a burglar, after all this was New York City. Then she remembered, to her chagrin, what, or rather, whom, she had forgotten earlier this morning. In other words... Troy Bolton. She relaxed and smiled reflexively. He must have been here when she left ... and he waited. She licked her lips in anticipation of another round of last night's activities and realized how skanky her breath was.

Sharpay made a beeline to the kitchen where she furiously dug through her drawers, searching for gum ... or mints ... or anything to lessen the nasty taste in her mouth. She finally found a single stick of Wrigley's crammed into the back of her junk drawer. It was so old and dried out that it broke into pieces when she shoved in her mouth, but it was better than nothing.

Taking a deep breath, she started to walk toward the bedroom again, more confident than before, with a little extra swing to her hips. Sharpay entered the bedroom and was surprised at how dark it was. The only light came from the flickering of the television with the volume turned down. It was tuned to the Weather Channel. A figure, obviously male, was sprawled out on the bed, intently watching the TV.

"Oh, I think we can find something more interesting to do than watch The Weather Channel", she cooed in her most seductive voice or as seductive as you can get with hardly any sleep, no food, no coffee, and no shower.

The man slowly turned his head towards Sharpay and their eyes met each other with simultaneous

expressions of disgust.

"Ryan?"

"Sharpay?"

She quickly flipped on the light and placed her hands defiantly on her hips. "What are you doing in my bed?"

"Well, who were you expecting?", he waggled his eyebrows knowingly.

Sharpay was instantly on the defensive and snapped back at him. "That's none of your business. What are you doing here, anyway?"

Ryan looked annoyed as he stood from the bed, dropping to his knees next to it. "What I'm supposed to be doing... I'm returned my nephew after our fun-filled weekend of bonding", Ryan said nonchalantly. He lifted the dust ruffle, exposing what lay hidden under her bed and Boi came bounding out.

"Oh!", Sharpay peeped in surprise. "I'd totally forgotten you had Boi." Her voice instantly changed to a high-pitched, little girl voice as she called out, "There's mommy's little boy!"

The little Yorkshire Terrier marched proudly around the room with a pair of white cotton boxer shorts in his mouth. He must have found them under the bed. They were larger than him and the little dog kept tripping over them in his effort to present them to his people. Both of the Evans twins were laughing at his shenanigans and Boi looked like he couldn't decide to whom he should present his prize. Finally, he settled on Ryan and dutifully dropped them at his feet.

Realizing what the white clothing was, Sharpay's eyes went wide and she made a grab for the underwear, but Ryan was faster. Holding up the garment by the waistband, he studied them, then his sister, in turn.

"I never took you for the boxer shorts type, Shar. And they look a little big." Then, an astute 'O' formed on his mouth and he added, "Whoever you thought I was when you came in, must be walking around 'commando' right now." Ryan looked like a gossipy school girl when he effeminately perched himself on the edge of Sharpay's bed and encouraged, "Give it up, sister. You know you'll tell me eventually."

Sharpay let out a sigh and flopped down next to him. Five minutes later, even the well-insulated walls of Sharpay's sturdily-built apartment building weren't able to muffle Ryan's incredulous exclamation of ... "Troy Bolton!"

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

Sorry it's taken so long to update this, but RL is currently kicking me in the rear.

More info on alcoholic drinks: This comes from Princess Lollipop and she said,

"Just so you know (and this is accurate since I am a certified bartender)  
'Galliano' is a yellowish liquor that is always kept on the top shelf against  
the wall of most bars due to the bottle being tall and narrow. Hence, the 'up  
against the wall'"

Who'da thought?

About Donny's ringtone on Sharpay's phone. That happened to me. Don't ever let your friends get a hold of your phone when you're not looking.


	4. A Normal Day

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 4: A Normal Day**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Troy walked into the 3rd Avenue offices of ESPN at his normal hour: 9:30 a.m., wearing his normal clothes: blue jeans and t-shirt, and carrying his normal $1 cup of coffee in a large Styrofoam cup from the vendor on the corner. He'd be darned if he'd pay $7.50 for a cup of liquid caffeine, even if it did come in a bio-degradable green and white paper cup made from 10% post-consumer recycled fiber. Nope, Troy would stick to good old Rajeev and his percolator on the corner of 3rd and 40th.

To someone studying his career from the outside, it looked like Troy's dream had shattered along with his knee. However, that was as far as one could get from the truth. True, he wasn't a professional basketball player anymore; however, with the exception of such legends as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he knew from the beginning that professional sports had a very limited shelf-life. He actually looked at his career-ending knee injury as a blessing in disguise. Now he co-hosted the most popular sports show on television. "The Best Darn It All To Heck Sports Show, Exclamation Point" aired nightly on ESPN and Troy and a great bunch of guys sat around, shot the bull about their favorite teams... and got paid to do it.

Troy said good morning to the security guard at the desk and stepped onto the elevator, just like every other morning of his life. Of course, all of this routine normalcy was external. Inside, he felt like he was about to explode. His head was pounding and even though the caffeine seemed to be making it worse, there was no way he was giving up on his morning coffee. This day, above all else, needed routine. His stomach felt like he'd drank an entire keg of beer and perhaps he had. His mouth tasted like the inside of a garbage disposal and no matter how many times he'd brushed his teeth and gargled, it was still the same --- disgusting.

And on top of all that, he felt extremely guilty about Sharpay. He shouldn't have sneaked out like he did. He felt horrible about that and had actually picked up the phone to call her and apologize before he remembered that he didn't have her number. He could always go back to her apartment or send flowers or something, but he was too afraid to do the former and the latter sounded cheesy. Fear ... damn straight ... Troy Bolton was definitely afraid of Sharpay Evans and what she'd do to him the next she saw him.

So here he sat, leaning precariously back in his desk chair, pondering these thoughts, instead of writing the interview questions he'd need in an hour when the phone rang, catching him off guard and causing him to almost tumble backwards out of his seat. Luckily, even though Troy wasn't a competitive athlete anymore, he still had excellent reflexes and he was up and answering the phone without too much damage to himself ... or to his office furniture.

"Yeah, I'm here, I'm here."

"_Man, that's a very professional way to answer the phone, Troy. What if I'd been the President of the NBA, ready to give you the interview of a lifetime?"_

"Morning, Chad", Troy deadpanned into the phone.

Ignoring his best friend's apathy, Chad marched forward. _"So... tell me all about last night."_

Unbidden, a smile came to Troy's mouth.

"_Wasn't I right about jumping right back on that horse that bucked you off? I bet she really surprised you, didn't she? Not that I'd be interested myself, of course, but you got to admit, she's really hot ... and once you get a few drinks in her ... well, after all she's a Wildcat too, right?"_

Troy sat up straight in his chair and stopped fiddling with his collection of Hot Wheels cars which he'd been lazily rolling across his desk. Suddenly he had his full attention trained on Chad.. _How'd Chad know about Sharpay?_, thought Troy.

Aloud, Troy exclaimed, "How did you..."

"_Because I'm your best friend, dude, and I know you like no one else."_ He paused for a moment before continuing. _"... Plus she's so different from Gabriella."_

_Wasn't that the truth?_, thought Troy. Latent flashes of Sharpay raising herself teasingly above him and pausing for so long, Troy thought he's die. Then she leaned over and licked his left nipple, blowing her warm breath across it before it dried. He couldn't take anymore and grabbed her by her hips and pulled her down onto him while he thrust up. They had both let out simultaneous groans of pleasure.

Chad was still talking. _"Yeah, she's so tall and all that long, red hair." _Chad sighed through the phone. _ "I tell you, if I wasn't already happily married..."_

Troy suddenly realized what Chad said and he exclaimed loudly, "Red hair? Wha... who are you talking about, Chad?"

"_Gisele Snow, man, you know ... your date last night."_ Then, he added suspiciously, _"Who did you think I was talking about?"_

_Gisele? My God, he'd completely forgotten about Gisele._

"Gisele, of course." Troy was trying to sound nonchalant. "Sweet kid."

"_Sweet kid?"_, Chad echoed. _"You were supposed to be gettin' your groove back, Troy. Not babysitting."_

All of a sudden, Troy wasn't very interested in this conversation. "Look, Chad... I-I gotta go. I'm interviewing this high school kid from Nevada in a half hour and I need to get my questions ready."

Sensing Troy's change in behavior, Chad consented, _"Sure, man. We'll talk later."_

Chad ended the call and immediately dialed his wife's number. Hopefully, Taylor could find out more about last night from the "sweet kid" herself.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The next day Sharpay had fully recovered from her wild night and she whirled into the office with new found determination. Donny dutifully greeted her with a Starbucks in one hand and her schedule in the other. Fortunately, the schedule was busy so it kept her from worrying about Troy. She'd briefly thought about trying to contact him ... for about three seconds. Then she realized that she was the wronged party in this. She was the one who woke up alone ... abandoned. And the fact that she didn't actually remember that she'd slept with him until she was on the elevator was beside the point.

She and Donny spent the morning pouring through portfolios of hopeful young, aspiring models until her eyes crossed and her vision blurred. It was page after page of the same thing --- cookie-cutter duplicates of the current definition of beauty. It really made her appreciate Gisele even more. Gisele definitely had a unique freshness about her.

Speaking of which ... Gisele popped her head into the room where Sharpay and Donny had dozens of 8X10 color glossies spend out on a large conference table.

"Hi, Sharpay", she chirped happily. Gisele certainly looked better than she had yesterday. She was wearing a flowing, Kelly-green dress that only a redhead could pull off. It had a certain pseudo-retro look, reminiscent of the 1950's. She certainly was a girly-girl.

"Hi, Gisele", Donny crooned before Sharpay had a chance to respond. She shot him a look which was totally wasted since Donny only had eyes for the model.

"Did you make it to the fitting this morning?", Sharpay asked. Gisele was modeling for an up-and-coming new designer at this Saturday's runway show. "Up-and-coming" was code for an undiscovered nobody, but you never knew.

_Maybe this guy was the next Yves St. Laurent. _

"Yeah, it went great. Lynny really loved my dress." Gisele spun in a tight little circle to show how her dress fluttered around her. Donny sighed. "He said he wished he'd thought of it."

_Or not_, thought Sharpay.

"I think you look beautiful", Donny gushed.

"Really?", Gisele asked, her voice full of insecurity.

It always amused Sharpay when knock-dead gorgeous women needed affirmation about their beauty.

"Oh, absolutely." Donny was staring at her, doe-like with his chin resting on the backs of his interlaced hands.

Gisele sounded genuinely relieved. "Oh good ... because I have a lunch date and wanted to look especially nice today."

_Poor Donny._ His elbows slipped off the table and his nose just missed the table before he pulled himself up.

"A date?", inquired Sharpay. "Anyone we know?" _It had better not be her Troy. Her Troy? Where in the world had that come from?_

"Actually, you do know him."

Sharpay's eyebrow knitted in consternation. _Maybe it was her Troy._

"In fact, you introduced us. Or rather, reintroduced us. We actually met in high school."

_Good ... then it wasn't Troy. But that doesn't make any sense..._

"How in the world would I know someone you went to high school with?"

"Well, we did go to the same school. Remember, Sharpay? Only I graduated _many_ years after you."

"It wasn't that many years, Gisele. And yes, I remember that we both went to East High. I think you told me that when you were spraying Red Door on my wrist back in the Coronado Mall ..." Sharpay paused and arched a perfect brow in the younger woman's direction. "... before I rescued you from that mundane life of yours."

"Oh, you're absolutely right, Sharpay. And I am so thankful every day ... Even more so now because I found Edward again or rather, you found him for me."

"Edward? Who's Edward?", Sharpay asked.

"Yes, Gisele", Donny bit through gritted teeth. "Who is Edward?"

Gisele looked off into space with a dreamy look on face before replying. "He was my high school boyfriend, but we broke off when he came to New York for college. But now..."

Before she could continue a strong, melodious voice rang out into the large office space.

"Gisele! Gisele! Where are you, Gisele?"

Sharpay and Donny look over at each other in wonder.

"Oh, Edward! It's Edward; he's here." Gisele practically floated out of the room with Sharpay and Donny close on her heels. They weren't missing this.

They both stopped short when they caught slight of the tall, handsome man who had just swept Gisele into a big hug and was currently swinging her around the office's open space. He was breathtakingly handsome with piercing blue eyes and stunning cheekbones. Unfortunately, he only had eyes for Gisele.

"O. M. G.", Donny exhaled sharply.

"I'll say", Sharpay concurred. "He's absolutely yummy."

Donny blinked and pulled his eyes away from the couple to look at Sharpay. "I was going to say that."

"What?", snapped Sharpay in surprise. _Donny really needed to pick a team. _

Ignoring Sharpay, Donny got a quizzical look on his face as he studied the handsome young man. "Does he look familiar to you, Sharpay?"

She sighed before answering. "Only in my dreams, Don."

"Seriously, don't you think he looks like James Marsden?"

"Now that you mention it..."

They were attracting quite a crowd and Sharpay noticed that even Doreen was peering out through the closed blinds of her office window.

Finally, the two pulled apart and Gisele lead Edward over to Sharpay and Donny. The rest of the office, sensing that nothing salacious was going to happen, slowly wandered back to their previous activities.

Approaching Sharpay and Donny as if they're her parents and it's the night of the senior prom, Gisele guided Edward over by his elbow. "Sharpay, you remember Edward, right?"

Sharpay studied him for a minute, but came up empty. "I'm sorry I don't because trust me, I'd remember him."

"Me, too", piped up Donny from behind her with a wide smile on his face.

"Edward was driving the taxi that brought me home the other night."

Sharpay studied him again, but still couldn't remember. She only had eyes for one man that night.

Sharpay looked at Edward with her best protective older sister look, well, not _that_ much older, but still... "So, Edward? ... You're a cabdriver?"

"Yes, but only at night. During the day, I attend NYU and I'm researching a novel based on all the fares I pick up in the cab. Everyone has a story to tell."

Donny decided to join the inquisition. "Isn't it extremely dangerous, driving a taxi in the city?"

"Crime rates are down significantly. And every job has it's own share of danger", Edward replied confidently.

"And you knew each other from high school?" This was from Sharpay.

"Yes, we dated then. Oh, and we both know you too, Miss Evans." Sharpay looked disbelievingly at him. "Oh yes, everyone knows the famous Evans twins. You and your brother were legends in the drama department of East High."

Sharpay blushed at the compliment, but Donny wasn't impressed.

"So, where are you taking our Gisele today, Edward?"

His eyes lit up merrily. "Oh, there's a little place over on 49th street that serves great green chili stew." Donny's nose wrinkled, but both Sharpay and Gisele smiled in recognition. "It's really hard to find anywhere east of west Texas."

"Ain't that the truth", Sharpay agreed. "Well, we'll let you two young people get going, but don't keep her out too long." Sharpay smiled an actual smile and winked at Gisele. "Oh, by the way, Edward, what's your last name? Maybe I went to school with one of your siblings."

"Unfortunately, Miss Evans, I'm an only child, but it's Prince, Edward Prince." He held out his hand to her.

Accepting his hand, Sharpay chastised him lightly. "Please ... Edward, call me Sharpay."

"Certainly, Sharpay." Edward turned to Gisele and linked his hand in hers. "We should probably get going, Gis."

"Okay, and don't wait up for us, Mom and Dad", she called out as they left.

Once the reunited paramours had cleared the outer office, Donny turned to Sharpay. "Edward Prince? And he looks like James Marsden? Isn't that just too weird?"

"What's too weird, Donny, is that you can't seem to decide if you're straight or gay. We need to have a talk."

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

I know this is probably just a filler chapter, but it does introduce more main characters and gives you more of an insight into Donny's quirky personality.

I definitely have to give credit where credit is due. In her review of chapter one, Clotisy said, "...everytime I read 'Gisele' I thought of the other Disney favorite from 'Enchanted'. James Marsden running around shouting 'Giselle!' was constantly on repeat during those moments...Hmm, It appears I need to start being more careful with what I eat or drink so late at night. That's definitely got to be the reason why I got these bizarre thoughts while reading something that has nothing to do with them lol. "

Well, keep eating weird foods at night because I loved it and so, the character Edward Prince is definitely based on Prince Edward from Enchanted.

"The Best Darn It All To Heck Sports Show, Exclamation Point" is, of course, a parody of "The Best Damn Sport Show Period" which airs on FOX.


	5. Magazines, Hormones and Hot Dogs

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 5: Magazines, Hormones and Hot Dogs **

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Six weeks later Sharpay flew into the office with a peeved expression on her, otherwise, beautiful face. She'd been waiting for this day for two months --- the Elle magazine featuring Gisele hit the stands today. And she started out this very important day by oversleeping. She was feeling continually run-down lately and couldn't understand it. And then, she couldn't seem to find a copy of the magazine. The newsstand closest to her apartment had none; the newsstand outside their office building had none. Both claimed to be sold out.

There was Donny waiting as usual with her Starbucks in hand and looking particularly terrified of her. That actually made her feel better. Nothing warmed Sharpay's heart more than having someone be completely petrified of her. Donny was so sweet sometimes.

She didn't say anything to him, but just grabbed her latte in silence. Coffee could always make her feel better. Sharpay closed her eyes as she let the warm liquid slide down her throat.

Donny watched Sharpay nervously. He stood there in abject horror; fear was driving his every action. When he'd left his tiny apartment which he shared to two brutish guys whom he hated, by the way, he immediately saw the latest edition of Elle sitting proudly on the rack at the corner newsstand. He quickly paid for it and started flipping through, looking for the layout on Gisele. When he found it, the magazine fell right out of his hands and landed in a dirty puddle of water on the sidewalk. And that's the best place for it, he thought. Thinking quickly, Donny hailed a cab and had the driver take him to Sharpay's apartment. This was something he needed to tell her in person. However, as he exited the taxi, the first thing Donny saw was that Elle magazine, staring back at him, taunting him. So instead of confronting his boss, he decided to buy all the copies of Elle and save his own hide. It was lucky that the newsstand took credit cards. After buying up two stands worth of copies, he realized he would have to cut back on his frivolous spending or he wouldn't be able to pay next month's credit card bill.

Now he stood, carefully observing Sharpay and waiting for the right moment to drop his bombshell. She also took bad news better after she had a couple of sips of her latte. He actually enjoyed the way her face and her whole body relaxed when that first jolt of caffeine hit her mouth. It was almost sensuous. She lifted the cup to her open mouth, closed her eyes and slowly sipped.

However, instead of the anticipated look of delight on her face, he saw ... disgust.

"Eeww!", Sharpay grimaced as she pulled the coffee away from her mouth to read the side of cup. "This tastes horrible. Is this my usual drink, Donny?"

"Y-yes, ma'am. A Triple Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte. Just like always."

She shoved the cup into his hands and continued to rant. "Just get rid of it. This day has been one crappy thing after the other and it's not even 9:00 a.m. yet."

"S-sorry, S-Sharpay."

_Oh, and now he's stuttering; I just love this guy._

She brushed by him and sat down at her computer, waiting anxiously for it to boot up.

"It's the weirdest thing, Donny; I can't find any copies of Elle, so I'm going to look it up online." Sharpay was typing as she talked and within seconds, her browser was sitting on the Elle website. Scanning the screen, she quickly saw the link for the latest issue and clicked it... just as the monitor died. Puzzled, Sharpay spun around in her seat and was stunned to see Donny holding her computer's power cord in his hand, the same traitorous hand which had just recently held a particularly vile cup of coffee.

"Donny?", she screeched, uncharacteristically. "What the fu...?"

"I had to, Sharpay. Y-you need some preparation before you look at that spread. Please, Sharpay?"

Realization suddenly dawned on her. "It was you! You bought all those issues! I want it now, Donny. Hand it over."

He didn't know which Sharpay to be more frightened of: the one that was yelling at him now or the one that would want to kill Gisele later. Feeling like the coward he was, he reached inside his messenger bag and pulled out the only copy of the magazine he'd saved.

"Just remember that Gisele was ill when ..."

"She had a hangover", Sharpay interrupted.

"So did you", Donny snapped back sounding much more courageous than he actually felt.

"Donnnny", she warned by dragging out his name the way he imagined she'd be dragging out his body in a few minutes. "Just give me the damn thing!", she shouted as she reached out and jerked the glossy periodical out of his hand.

She sat down in her chair to find the article and ordered Donny to find her another cup of coffee. Even the brewed office stuff had to taste better than that swill he tried to give her earlier. He complied, grateful to be away from her.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get away far enough, fast enough and she followed him to the break room, shutting the door behind them. They'd get more privacy here anyway.

Donny immediately took up a defensive posture and held up his hands as if to shield himself from a blow. However, Sharpay surprised him by speaking lowly instead of attacking him. Or maybe she was just trying to catch him off guard.

"Has anyone else seen this?" She held the magazine, crushed in her hand, the way he imagined his neck would be in a few minutes.

"I-I don't think so. I b-bought out all the issues at the newsstand."

"Good..." She started pacing around the room, trying to think, but the smell of brewing coffee was starting to make her nauseous.

Donny suddenly thought of more bad news. "But, uh,... Sharpay?"

"What!"

"What about subscriptions?", he whispered tentatively.

Sharpay's eyes widened to cartoon proportions. "The mail room! Let's go."

She grabbed his hand and they were just about to the door when Doreen came sweeping through the outer office with some glossy paper wadded in her hand.

"Oh no, it's too late." Sharpay let out a barely audible groan.

"Sharpay! What's the meaning of this?" Doreen was holding that dreaded magazine in her hand and waving it around for all to see. "My office. Now!"

"Yes, ma'am." Sharpay meekly followed her into the bosses' sanctuary, remembering her last unpleasant meeting there with Doreen.

The older woman silently indicated for Sharpay to sit down. Doreen didn't bother to sit herself, but just propped against the massive desk and crossed her arms, silently waiting for Sharpay to make the first move.

After a silent standoff of what felt like hours, but in actuality was only about 90 seconds, Sharpay gave up and blurted out, "Look, Mrs. Remington, I can explain..." She trailed off, not actually sure _how_ to explain since she didn't quite understand it either.

Doreen took over. "When I see one of my girls featured in Elle or Vogue, I expect to see them featured in a _good_ light. I know there were issues that morning with both you and Gisele..." Doreen suddenly jumped up from her propped position against the desk. "... but my God, Sharpay ... how could you let this happen to one of your own clients?"

"Believe me, Mrs. Remington, I had no idea this was going to happen. The photographer said he had an idea of how to save the shoot..."

"And you let him just roll with it? Never thought to question what he was planning?" Her voice was rising higher and higher in both pitch and volume causing Sharpay to cringe with each word. "Look at this picture Sharpay and the title of the article." Doreen opened the magazine to where she was holding the spot with her finger and held it up for Sharpay to see. There in all its glory was a full page glossy shot of Giselle, looking like absolute crap with the title, shining in all of its Helvetica, 36 point font size: "Even Beautiful Women Have Horrible Days: How to Survive a Bad Hair, Face and Body Day". Even though she'd already seen this crime against fashion and beauty, looking at it again actually seemed to make Sharpay feel a little woozy. Trying desperately to come up with some defense, she quickly rose to her feet and felt the bottom drop out of her world.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The next thing Sharpay knew she was lying on a comfortable sofa and Donny was patting a cool cloth against her forehead.

"It's okay, Sharpay. You're going to be just fine", he said soothingly.

_Oh God, just what I don't need ... Donny fawning over me._

She quickly pushed his hand away and sat up, realizing immediately that she was still in Doreen's office and lying on Doreen's imported Italian leather sofa. She'd never been asked to sit _there_.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, honey... Take it easy", Donny spouted off nervously as he attempted to push her back against the leather. "You went down pretty hard; it's a wonder you didn't hit anything when you fell."

"Fell?", Sharpay asked confusedly. "What? Did Doreen hit me or something?"

"Oh, very funny. No, Sharpay. You fainted. Don't you remember?" He sounded a little worried now.

"Fainted? That's ridiculous. I've never fainted in my entire life", Sharpay lied. She had fainted that one time back in 12th grade, but that was completely justified. The very idea that she had to share her stage with those .... those neophytes. Sharpay shook her head to bring herself back to the present. She sat up again and stood from the comfy couch, brushing off Donny's anxious concern. "I'm fine, Donny. Stop fussing over me. Where's Doreen?" She fired off each statement in rapid succession as started walking toward the office door.

Donny hovered near her like a mother hen as they made their way back to Sharpay's cubicle. "I've never seen Doreen so rattled, Sharpay. Once she realized you weren't dead, she took out of here like a suburban housewife on her way to a 75% off sale at Nordstorm Rack. And admit it or not that little fainting spell probably saved your job ... at least, temporarily."

She turned on him now and hissed, "I told you, Donny, I Don't Faint. Now get me Gisele and get her now."

Donny paled even more than his norm, which, by the way, made her brother, Ryan, look tanned. "I-I, um, already tried when you were in with the boss ... you know, before you ...", seeing the glare in Sharpay's eyes, he quickly amended his next statement, "... took that nap."

"And?", she prompted impatiently.

They had reached Sharpay's cubicle now and she flopped down into her chair.

"She's unreachable."

"_Unreachable? _Heidi Klum and Kate Moss can be _unreachable_. Gisele Snow is not allowed to be unreachable." She looked at her assistant, awaiting an explanation.

Donny's voice dropped to a whisper and Sharpay realized he didn't want the nosy office walls to hear them. "I spoke with her roommate and she told me that Gisele left last night with that taxi driver friend of hers."

"Left? Where did she go?"

He leaned in closer. "Vegas", he murmured knowingly.

Suddenly, Sharpay understood exactly what he was talking about. There was only one reason a man and woman would suddenly fly off to Vegas.

"You mean?"

Donny looked dejected as he delivered the news. "They got married."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Ryan didn't know how Sharpay's personal assistant had tracked him down, but after Donny explained the situation to him, Ryan was sure he knew exactly how to make things better for his twin. He came sweeping into the model agency's office complex and went straight toward Sharpay who was sitting, slumped at her desk, with a defeated look on her face. Standing next to her was a delightful looking young man with jet black hair and skin as pale as alabaster.

_That must be the infamous Donny that Sharpay rants about all the time. He looks absolutely delectable. Focus, Ryan. You're here for Sharpay, not yourself._

"Are you ready to go?", Ryan asked with as much perk as he could muster, which was a considerable amount.

Sharpay looked up and saw her brother standing in front of her wearing a yellow Polo shirt and an outlandish pair of bright green Ralph Lauren slacks. The slacks were embroidered with little martini glasses and shakers in random patterns all over the material. Only Ryan Evans could have pulled off wearing such decidedly queer clothes.

"Ryan?! What are you doing here?", Sharpay asked as she pulled her brother in for a hug. This was just what she needed and then, completely without warning, she realized tears were streaming down her cheeks.

She must have made a noise because Ryan pulled out of the hug to study her. With disbelief evident in his voice, he asked, "Shar, are you crying?"

She immediately stood up straighter and wiped away the tears. "Of course not; don't be ridiculous, Ryan! I don't cry; you know that."

"She doesn't faint either", Donny volunteered, unsolicited.

"Weeeell... a little bird told me you were having a rough day, a very cute little bird, by the way." Sharpay's eyes narrowed as she noticed Ryan making goo-goo eyes at a suddenly shy Donny.

"Oh God, this is just what I need today", Sharpay moaned with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Huh-uh, sis", Ryan corrected. "But I have an idea for just what you need. Trust me."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Sharpay looked over and smiled at her brother as they walked through the doors of Vartika's Salon. It was definitely one of Sharpay's favorite places to be. The salon's manager, Hourieh, was welcoming and caring as always. She made each and every person who walked through the glass doors of the hair salon feel like she was the most important person the salon would service ... ever. Ryan was whisked off by a different stylist and Sharpay was shown to the back where she was enveloped in a smothering hug by Richard, her stylist. He was the reason she came here and the reason women, smart women, that is, treasure the relationship between themselves and their stylist. In many cases it's more intimate then sex.

Richard was a small, thin man in his mid-thirties with a shaved head and a store-bought tan. He wore flame-red skinny jeans and a black silk dress shirt which he wore out because he could never get it to stay tucked. All that stretching and maneuvering around women's heads was a disaster on fashion. However, the one item of Richard's look that people remembered most were his outrageous Sarah Palin eye glasses. In fact, people _in the know_ referenced the fact that Richard had been wearing them longer than Palin herself and they should be called Ree-shard glasses.

Richard flamboyantly pushed Sharpay back to take a look at her, subtlety examining her hair. "Let me take a look at you, chéri", he cooed in his colorful French accent, an accent which Sharpay was positive is fake. However, he's a genius with her hair, so she never questioned his origins. "Choo look merveilleux, Sharpay, simply marvelous."

"Oh, Ree-shard", Sharpay exclaimed. "You have no idea how much I need to hear that today."

"Oh, my dear. Tell everything to Ree-shard while I make you even more beautiful."

He adeptly took her hand and led her to back where he begin to work his magic on her mane of golden locks. Well, the actual color was a trade secret kept locked away in Ree-shard's safe, but _golden_ was close enough.

Two hours later, Ree-shard escorted Sharpay out to meet Ryan in the front lobby.

"I must say, Ree-shard, you've really outdone yourself this time. I can't remember when my hair has looked this good."

"But it's not me, Sharpay", Ree-shard admitted in a low whisper as he leaned closer to her, as if to share a confidence. "It's you, chéri. I understand that you probably aren't ready to make an announcement yet, but I have been a stylist for over ten years now and I know the changes a woman's hair makes. We'll adjust your color treatments on your next visit ... just to be safe, of course." At Sharpay's puzzled expression, he straightened up and amended, "But perhaps I am speaking out of turn." He leaned forward and kissed her on both cheeks before leaving.

Sharpay turned to Ryan. "Did you hear what Ree-shard said? That was really weird, don't ya think? What do you think he was talking about?"

Ryan was currently staring at the rear-end of one of the young male assistants who was sweeping hair off the floor. He obviously wasn't listening to her and instead made an airy comment. "Oh, Sharpay... it's a Mecca in here."

"Oh hell, Ryan... let's go eat. I'm starving."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Mmmm, this is so good. I can't believe how long it's been since I've had a hot dog", moaned Sharpay with her mouth stuffed full of food.

"Somehow", complained Ryan as he took delicate little bites from his own hot dog, "this isn't what I imagined when you said you were starving."

They were sitting on a bench near the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon in Central Park, but Sharpay was so engrossed in her food that Ryan doubted she realized where they were. The memorial is a triangular piece of land falling away on the two sides of the park, and its focal point is a circular pathway mosaic of inlaid stones. In the center of the mosaic is a single word, the title of Lennon's famous song: "Imagine".

After Sharpay insisted on a classic New York City hot dog for lunch, the cab driver took them directly to the south end of Central Park and let them out in front of a hot dog street vendor at the corner of 72nd and Central Park West. Sharpay boldly marched over to the Sabrett hot dog cart and demanded a hot dog slathered with ketchup, mustard, onions, and relish.

"Look, Ryan... I wasn't feeling very good this morning and I didn't have any breakfast. And well... I guess I was having a yearning for a hot dog. And how in the world can you complain about this..." She held up what was left of her dog and continued, "monument to Americana?" With that, she popped the remainder in her mouth and stood up. "Now, I'm ready to shop."

Ryan threw away the rest of his lunch and ran to catch up with his sister. He knew from experience that she was hell-on-wheels when it came to shopping. After nabbing another cab, they found themselves on 5th Avenue outside the department store of Bergdorf Goodman in what is considered the center of New York City retail.

They headed straight to the top floor and as far away as possible from the bargain basement. Even thought Sharpay technically lived on her own, she still had a sizable trust fund and more than generous gifts, usually in the form of cash, from her parents. Therefore, she didn't have to wait for sales and she didn't have to wear cheap designer knock-offs. And the best part ever... Ryan loved to shop with her. It was like he secretly wanted the clothes for himself, but since he couldn't have them, he lived vicariously through his sister.

Ryan thrust a blouse over the door of the changing room and said excitedly, "Oooo, try this one Sharpay. Kate Moss wore it last week at MTV Movie Awards."

Sharpay took the button-up blouse and chuckled to herself as she heard Ryan being yelled at by more than one woman for being in the ladies' changing room. Little did they know, it was actually more inappropriate for him to be in the men's changing room. She liked the blouse immediately; she and Ryan shared the same taste in clothing. It fit beautifully ... until she tried to button it up.

"Ry? Are you sure this is the right size?"

"Why? What's wrong?", he asked through the door.

"It's too tight", she groaned and she tried to pull the blouse together in the front where it was gaping open and threatening to bust a button or two.

"Maybe those hot dogs weren't good for your waistline."

"Very funny." Sharpay opened the door and stepped out of the tiny dressing room. "And the weight gain isn't around my waist, you jackass." She showed him the bulging buttons and Ryan's eyebrows shot straight up.

"Wow, Shar. When did you get so big?" Then, he leaned in closer and asked quietly, "Did you have something done? You know, some enhancements?"

"No!", she huffed indignantly. "I certainly did not."

"Well, you look huge. I didn't notice it before because that top you were wearing isn't very revealing, but this shirt..."

"This is disturbing, Ryan. Stop staring at my breasts!" She slammed the door shut and started to take off the tight blouse. She had to admit, if only to herself, Ryan was right. She studied herself in the mirror, wearing only a bra and her pants --- she did look huge ... and a lot bouncier than normal.

He shouted petulantly through the door. "You're the one who thrust them at me. I think I'll go find you an extra-large." As Ryan marched out of the changing room, he had some fleeting and disturbing thoughts: fainting spells, unprovoked crying, craving for hot dogs, not being able to eat breakfast, short temper (never mind, she's always like that). He stopped for a second in the middle of the women's clothing department and found himself staring at a sign for the maternity section.

_No way, that couldn't be._

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

After an impressive amount of purchases, Ryan and Sharpay walked back onto 5th Avenue, heavily laden with shopping bags of various shapes and sizes. Sharpay decided against the Kate Moss top in any size, but found tons of other things to squelch the retail demon. Next, Ryan insisted that they go into The Disney Store before hitting the Gucci store which was where Sharpay wanted to go.

"Oh come on, Ryan... Why are you dragging me in here? I haven't liked The Disney Store since I was 13." She stubbornly stopped short right outside the glass doors.

"I want to pick up Disney's latest Blu-ray release. You know I like to buy them here for the free lithograph." Even though it cost more to buy movies at an official Disney store, they always included a free lithograph from the movie and as disturbing as it was to his sister, Ryan had a substantial collection of animated Disney movies and the framed pictures hung proudly in his living room. "Come on, Shar. It'll just take a minute, then we could go to my place and watch it. I saw it at the theater, but I know you haven't seen this one yet, right?"

"Right. I had and continue to have no desire to watch Disney's version of Hamlet."

"Oh, but that talking skull was so cute", Ryan yammered on, "and the duet with Yorick, Horatio and Hamlet won an academy award."

"How can three people sing a duet?" Sharpay reluctantly followed him into the brightly lit store and grimaced at the unpleasant smell of plastic wafting up from the decals on the hundreds of graphic t-shirts on display.

He replied matter-of-factly, "The skull doesn't count. Oh! There it is." Ryan walked purposefully toward the large display near the front of the store.

"Just hurry up, okay. I'm going to the ladies room", she called after him.

Ryan turned around and studied her for a second before commenting, "Again? You went before we left Bergdorf's." Sharpay's glare halted any further comments and he scurried off to buy his movie.

A much relieved Sharpay stood at the sink washing her hands. Ryan was right, maybe there was something wrong with her. Every time she turned around, she had to pee. After reapplying her lipstick and fluffing her hair, Sharpay was just about ready to leave when a frazzled woman came rushing in with a small baby in one arm and towing a little girl of about three years old behind her. The woman locked eyes with Sharpay and gave a grateful sigh which immediately put the blonde on alert.

"Oh, thank goodness there's someone here. Emily needs to go potty", exclaimed the young mother, as if that would explain everything. Sharpay looked down at the little girl and, sure enough, she was performing an excellent rendition of the classic 'pee pee dance'. The mother then thrust the baby into Sharpay's stunned arms.

She held the squirming baby out at arm's length, too shocked to say anything. Sharpay looked up to see the mom rushing the little girl into the large handicapped stall at the far end of the bathroom.

"Hey! Where are you going?", shouted Sharpay who was very quickly starting to panic.

"Just hold him for a minute please", the mom called back. "This won't take long."

This was followed very quickly by a small voice saying plaintively, "Mommy, I need to go poopy."

"Hmmm, it may take longer than I thought. Sorry."

Sharpay looked back in fright at the baby who was staring up at her with large saucer-like eyes.

"Oh, shit", Sharpay mumbled and then, immediately back-pedaled with, "I-I mean, shoot ... oh shoot." _How do I get into these situations? I hate kids._ When they were handing out the ooey- gooey baby genes, they skipped her. Still, this particular kid was awfully cute. Without realizing she was doing it, Sharpay smiled, just a small, discrete smile, but a smile nonetheless. And the baby, being a baby, who soaked up attention like a sponge, returned her smile with one of his own. And hard-shelled Sharpay Evans ... fell in love.

"Oh my, you're just adorable, aren't you?", she said, unconsciously raising the pitch of her voice until she was almost squeaking at the baby. He cooed back at her and she automatically pulled him into the safety of her arms and hugged him to her.

"I'm allllll done!", announced the baby's older sister as she walked out of the stall and up to Sharpay, who was suddenly feeling very protective of her charge.

"Wash your hands, young lady", reminded the mother who was following behind her. Then to Sharpay, she said, "Thanks so much. I'll just be a second." She moved to wash her own hands and help her daughter at the sink.

"No problem, really. Take your time." She was grinning at the baby unabashedly at this point and twirled him around in a little circle to distract him from mommy. The baby started becoming agitated when he saw his mother and Sharpay instinctively knew she should get him interested in something else until the mom had a chance to wash her hands. It would be hours later before she realized that she'd never before had _any_ kind of instincts when it came to children. Therefore, Sharpay did what Sharpay does best and started singing to him and dancing around the small room.

"Bop, bop, bop. Bop to the top..."

Soon the baby was giggling loudly and mom and sister were finished. Sharpay volunteered to carry him out of the ladies room ... to help the mom out ... or so she told both of them.

_Where was she?_ Ryan had bought his movie and was ready to go, but he couldn't find Sharpay. He decided to make one more loop before checking outside. His eyes were sweeping back and forth as he walked and he vaguely registered passing two young mothers with their children, a little girl of about three and a baby who looked to be about four months old, respectively. It wasn't until he'd walked by them did he hear her voice.

"...really it was no trouble. The trouble's going to come when I have to give this little sweetie-pie back."

"Well, you certainly are a natural with him. Nat doesn't usually warm up to strangers so quickly", the other woman replied.

Ryan whipped around and looked closely at a small blonde woman cuddled and cooed to a squirmy, giggling little baby.

"Sharpay?", Ryan asked in astonishment. "Is that you?"

Sharpay grinned up at him. "Ryan? Isn't this the most adorable baby you've ever seen?"

Well, she did looked like Sharpay, but this can't possible be his sister. She hated kids ... loathed them. Back when they were teenagers, she would turn off the outside lights and pretend to not be home on Halloween so she wouldn't have to talk to one. Another time she almost ran a school bus off the road because she said the little brats made her nervous, staring at her from the bus' windows. Once Mrs. Darbus had them perform a play at the local children's hospital and Sharpay skipped school so she wouldn't have to go. He could think of hundreds of examples as to which this blubbering woman couldn't be his sister and yet, she was.

The baby's mother intervened and told Sharpay thank you again and retrieved her baby. Sharpay reluctantly handed him over. She continued to wiggle her fingers to the baby and call, "Toodles", until they were out the door and had disappeared from view. Sharpay, who was still smiling idiotically, turned to Ryan and sighed happily.

With steely determination in his voice, Ryan grabbed onto Sharpay's arm and hissed, "You're not well, Sharpay, and I'm taking you home; but first, I'm stopping by a drug store."

"Drug store?", she asked in confusion. "I'm not sick."

"Oh, I think you're a lot more than sick, Sharpay."

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

**I am sooooo sorry it's taken me so long to get this thing out. My RL is beyond crazy right now, but there is a faint glimmer of light at the end of my very long tunnel. I tried to make up for the delay by making it really long.**

No lie... Those bright green pants that Ryan was wearing hung in the window of the Ralph Lauren store in our local mall all summer last year. They are the goofiest thing ever.

About the Disney movie... I was trying to come up with some ridiculous movie, along the lines of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I mean, think about it, what an absurd book to base an animated Disney movie off of. Some others I was thinking of was: The Scarlet Letter, The Ten Commandants (though that's not really a book), and a friend of mine suggested Moby Dick. I could actually see them doing one based on that book, though.

**And before I forget... I forgot to credit my beta, Trish, who came up with the idea of Gisele dating the cab driver, but it was my idea, along with you readers who made him look like James Marsden.**


	6. The Results

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 6: The Results**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Sharpay was curiously silent as she and Ryan stared down at the white plastic stick which lay on her bathroom countertop.

"Well", announced Ryan, solemnly, "I guess that settles it."

"I want to take another test." Sharpay's voice was eerily calm.

"Shar ..." He was trying to not sound patronizing, but it was difficult and he was sure he was failing. "That was the last one and they all said the same thing..." He tilted his head in the direction of the edge of the bathtub where, aligned in a neat row, sat six other plastic sticks, each one a slightly different design.

There were the E.P.T Certainty 1-Step Pregnancy Test, Clearblue Easy Digital Pregnancy Test, and First Response Gold Digital Pregnancy Test ... all with digital readout. Then, there was the E.P.T Pregnancy Test, the Fact Plus One-Step Pregnancy Test, and the Clearblue Easy Results Pregnancy Test with the + or – indicator. And on the countertop, there sat the tried and true First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test with the classic blue line. All of them reported the same results --- Sharpay was pregnant.

She sank down onto the closed toilet seat, dropped her head into her hands and moaned. "No, no, and fuck no! It's not possible. I _can't_ be pregnant, Ryan. I don't want children; I've never wanted children and the thought that something could be growing inside of me, makes me ill."

"That's probably just morning sickness."

"Shut up, Ryan! Those tests are wrong ... all seven of them ... I can't be pregnant."

Ryan watched her thoughtfully before commenting. "Okay, Sharpay, that's called denial; it's usually followed soon after by anger."

Sharpay's head snapped up. "Shit! I'm going to kill that son of a ..." She was up and out of the room before Ryan could blink and he followed quickly after her. She'd made it all the way to elevator before he caught up.

"Sharpay ... please, wait. Talk to me."

Before she could say anything, the elevator doors opened to reveal that same old lady with her ardent basset hound. Sharpay, then, turned her anger to the stranger. "Why are you always here?!"

The old lady looked genuinely frightened, as did the dog who was cowered behind his mistress as the doors grateful shut, leaving them alone.

Ryan grabbed onto both of Sharpay's shoulders and turned her toward him. "Sharpay, look at me!", he demanded. "We're going back to your apartment and I'm going to make you a calming cup of chamomile tea and we're going to talk about this, okay?"

Sharpay's eyes had glazed over and she nodded mutely and allowed him to lead her back inside.

Five minutes later, Ryan placed the warm mug of tea in front of his sister and sat down across from her. "Okay, Sharpay. Talk to me. Who are you sleeping with? And why do you want to kill him?"

"I'm not _sleeping_ with anyone. I-It was a one-night stand. I already told you about him, Ryan." She was starting to sound angry again, but at least she was talking to him and not cursing him.

"Oh my God! Do you mean Troy Bolton?"

"Of course, I mean Troy Bolton. I don't sleep around casually; you know that."

"Alright, alright. You're right. You don't sleep around ... often. But you do do it enough to know to take precautions."

"That's why I'm going to kill him!" Then, she told Ryan ... the rest of the story. She didn't hold anything back, even including Troy's desire to have a baby with his then-wife, Gabriella, and him telling her that he couldn't father children.

"You think he lied to you?" Ryan was still trying to wrap his mind around his whole soap-opera like plot of his sister's life.

"What else could it have been? He tells me this outrageous sob story about how Gabriella dumps him and how he's this super hottie who shoots blanks and is God's gift to women..."

"He said that?"

"Well, not in so many words, but that part is true." She briefly had a far off look in her eye as she remembered fragmented bits of her night with Troy before being jerked back to reality by Ryan.

"No offense, Sharpay, but I think you're wrong ... not about the gift to women thing. You're right --- he is hot." Sharpay rolled her eyes in Ryan's general direction. "No, you're wrong about him doing this as part of some elaborate pick-up scheme." She glared at him ... again. "Seriously, think about it. This is Troy Bolton: boy scout extraordinaire. Plus, I don't think he's smart enough to come up with something like this."

Sharpay thought about it ... seriously thought about it and knew Ryan was right. Troy Bolton _wasn't_ that cruel , so he must honestly think he's infertile. With that thought in mind she realized something far more devastating than her lone pregnancy.

"Dear God, Ryan! I have to find him. It's been six weeks since we got together, he's a newly divorced hottie in New York City. He could have impregnated hundreds of women by now."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Bolton, here", Troy barked into the phone. The past month had been crazy and he really didn't have time for one more telephone call. Basketball season, which officially started at the end of October, was only two months away. Troy was getting revved up with coach interviews, player interviews and the ever-fun speculation that was his daily bread in the television network industry. On top of that, the main baseball reporter was out of work having back surgery and Troy was taking up the slack in that sport during the height of their summer season. Therefore, it was with little wonder that his temper was so short.

"_Troy, my man"_, crackled the exuberant voice of Chad Danforth. Troy hadn't heard from him in six weeks. Since the morning after... _"You're in your office, right?"_

"Yeah...", Troy said warily, wondering if he should expect a knock at the door or a bullet through his office window.

"_Then you're not the new Mr. Gisele Snow. I knew it! I told Taylor she was crazy, but you know women and their gossiping."_

Troy rubbed a tired hand over his eyes. "What are you talking about, Chad? Work really has me swamped. I don't have time for..."

Chad cut him off. _"Gisele ran off to Vegas and married some guy and Taylor was convinced it was you because Gisele's Aunt Sally who was college roommates with Taylor's mom, Delores, told her daughter, Sydney, who told Taylor's cousin, Jessica,..." _ He trailed off and Troy became even more anxious to get off the phone.

"Chad", Troy bit out in annoyance.

"_O-oh, oh yeah, anyway somebody told Taylor that Gisele was gettin' pretty serious with this guy she started dating around the time that you and her went out. But I knew it wasn't you. You didn't even seem all that interested in her ... though for the life of me, I don't know why. She's hot!"_

"Chad!"

"_Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't done anything crazy."_

Years later, Troy would never understand why he said what he said next, but before he knew it the words were out and he couldn't take them back. "I have done something crazy, Chad. I had a one-night stand with Sharpay Evans and I can't stop thinking about her."

There was long silence on the other end of the phone and Troy thought for sure Chad had hung up.

"_Meet me at Dock's in five minutes, dude. We'll talk then."_

"Sure", Troy sounded defeated.

Troy slowly stood from his desk and glancing around to check if he needed anything, left the office and headed towards the elevator. Dock's Oyster Bar wasn't their normal meeting place, but it was very close to the 3rd Avenue offices of ESPN and Chad probably knew if he had to walk further than half a block, he wouldn't go. He entered the upscale restaurant/bar and barely noticed the clean, crisp lines of décor that graced the interior. The walls were painted in warm earth tones and black mosaic tiles decorated the bar where black leather and chrome stools awaited patronage. It was late afternoon --- too late for lunch and too early for dinner and every stool was empty, save for one.

Troy walked up to his old friend and sat down without saying a word. He indicated for the bartender to give him a bottled beer, but other than that didn't acknowledge his childhood friend. Chad turned and spoke to Troy's profile. "Hey man, you got here pretty quick."

"Not as quick as you", Troy said solemnly.

"I was already here", he stated as if they didn't both already know this fact. "I've been worried about you, Troy. Calling about Gisele was just a cover. You canceled on lunch three weeks ago and every time I left a message, you never return it."

"Like I said, I've been really busy."

"...With Sharpay?", Chad hedged.

"What?", Troy snapped and finally turned to look at him.

"You told me on the phone that you and her got together."

"Yeah, _got_ together, as in the past tense and then it was only one time. God, I've really messed this up, Chad. I mean I can't believe I went home with her ... that we ..."

"Hey, this is obviously eating you up inside, so why don't you call her?"

"I can't", Troy said mournfully. "I-I did a really stupid thing; I left the next morning when she was still asleep."

"You ran out on Sharpay Evans? Are you crazy?"

"Yeah, I am, but she hasn't contacted me either and I'm a lot easier to find than she is."

"Man, you better be careful around her. Remember what I told you in high school --- don't pet the mountain lion, but I guess you went waaaay beyond petting, huh?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"What do you mean you don't know how to get in touch with him? He's _Troy Bolton_." At her blank stare, Ryan continued, "He's on 'The Best Darn It All To Heck Sports Show, Exclamation Point'." This solicited more blank stares. "It airs every night on ESPN at nine and then, repeats at eleven."

They'd decided she would call Troy and invite him out to dinner or something and she could tell him there. This wasn't something to be shared over the telephone. Sharpay admitted that she had considered calling him before now, but she didn't know how to find him.

After Ryan's revelation, all Sharpay could manage to say was, "_You_ watch ESPN?"

"Give me the phone", Ryan demanded, ignoring her sexist comment.

After Ryan found the number for ESPN Studios, he called and was shortly transferred to the offices of 'The Best Darn It All To Heck Sports Show, Exclamation Point'. While it was still ringing, he handed the phone back to Sharpay.

_This was it! What was she going to say to him?_

"_The Sports Show, may I help you?"_, answered a pleasant female voice.

"Oh, um ... I was trying to reach Troy Bolton?" Her voice sounded lame even to her own ears.

"_He's not at his desk, but I don't think he's left for the day. May I take a message?"_

"Sure ... could you tell him ..." _Tell him what, Sharpay, he's not as infertile as he thought? He's put a bun in your oven. That sounded stupid._

"_Ma'am"_, asked the pleasant voice, _"are you still there?"_

"Yeah, sorry", she muttered quickly. "Just tell him to call Sharpay Evans at 555-1234; we need to talk."

"_Got it and have a nice day."_

"Thank you", replied Sharpay automatically, though this was far from a nice day. She hung up the phone and gave Ryan a relieved smile. "I'm glad that's over with." She flopped down onto the couch next to Ryan. "I just want to pretend this never happened."

"It's not going to go away." Ryan squeezed her hand. "You're pregnant and now we have to decide what the next step is."

"What do you mean _what the next step is?_ There's only one thing to do, for God's sake." Her voice was hard and Ryan flinched at her words. "Really, Ryan ... as if I have a choice."

"Ryan", Sharpay sat down next to him on the sofa and noticed him tense up immediately. "You're my brother, my twin, and I love you and I know that you'll support me no matter what my decision is, but now isn't the right time for a baby", she said these words as gently as she could. "I'm not ready to be a mother. I have my career, Ryan, and that's the most important thing to me right now and I don't want a baby. A baby would ruin everything."

"But what about that baby in The Disney Store?", Ryan asked helplessly; his eyes inexplicably brimming with tears.

"It was someone else's and I gave it back. It must have been hormones or something." She put her arms around him, offering him the only thing she could, and smiled sadly. "This is so weird. Here I am, comforting my brother, when I'm the one who's pregnant. I'm the one who will be having an abortion."

Ryan looked up at her eventually and sighed, "Oh Sharpay, I do love you and you're right, I'll always be there for you, but you can't just make a snap decision like this. This isn't just about you anymore. You have a new life growing inside of you ... a baby ... my niece or nephew." He started crying in earnest now.

"It's not a baby!", Sharpay snapped, more harshly than she intended and she stood from the sofa and walked to the window. Looking down on the busy street below, she wondered how everyone else could carry on with their lives as if nothing has happened when her life had been turned upside down. "Lots of people have abortions, Ryan, more than you'd ever imagine. In fact it's a miracle this hasn't happened to me before now. It's no big deal." Her back was still turned to him and her gaze was drawn away from the street and to the apartment building across the alley from hers ... to the large, oversized window where she could very clearly see a young couple, lying on the floor with their baby between them, laughing and cooing at the product of their love and she felt ... absolutely nothing.

She turned away from the window. "It's not a baby, Ryan." She walked back to the sofa and sat down, wondering why she didn't feel sick, wondering why she only felt tired and a bit numb. "It's a ... nothing ... it's nothing. It's not a baby ... it's not my child and it's not your niece or nephew. You have to stop thinking like that or I won't be able to get through this.

Ryan pulled himself together, sniffed and said, "I understand."

They pretended to have a normal evening. Ryan made dinner for her in her kitchen and they ate in relative silence.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"That beer just goes straight through me; I just need to hit the can before we leave", Troy told Chad as they walked into Troy's office many hours later to retrieve his laptop before leaving for the evening.

"Sure man, I'll just wait at your desk and play with all your toys."

"Hah. Every time you come in here, something goes missing. Just know that I've got my eye on you."

Chad chuckled to himself as he watched Troy stagger down the hallway towards the men's room. Then, he moved behind the sizable desk and sat down in the comfortable leather seat. As much as he loved his own career, Troy did have more perks than he did. As he started idly looking over Troy's desk, a small slip of paper caught his eye. Once, he'd made 100 bucks on a tip he saw on Troy's desk about an upcoming NBA draft. Unfortunately, this note wasn't about basketball.

It was from Sharpay Evans. Damn! That girl was nothing but trouble back in high school and now that Troy was on the rebound, Chad didn't think it would be good for him to rebound into the ice princess.

He quickly picked up the paper and shoved it into his pocket just as Troy walked back in.

"Ready, man?", Chad asked nonchalantly. "Taylor's really excited about you coming for dinner. She's got some recipe she wants to try out."

"So... we should stop by Mickey-D's on the way?"

"You got it."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Thank you, Mother, talking with you has really helped."

Sharpay looked up from the phone and saw Ryan let himself back in. He was just returning from taking Boi for a walk. Ryan had been incredibly supportive of her over the past week since she found out about the pregnancy. Which was remarkable, she knew, since he didn't approve of her decision to end it.

"_You do what you think is right, Sharpay. I trust your judgment"_, Darby was telling when she focused back on their conversation. _"Have you given anymore consideration into dating ... you know ... once this is taken care of?"_

"You don't need a man in your life if you have a support structure of friends and family around you." Sharpay was pretty sure she'd heard that on Oprah or read it on a box of cereal or something.

"_And do you have a good social life there in New York?"_, Darby asked. _"Do you have friends? Are you happy? I'm not saying you have to have a man to be happy, but I know how lonely life can be living on your own and I worry about you living so far away."_

"Mother... this city is most definitely not paved with eligible men. And as for my social life... well, I have Ryan." That sounded pathetic.

"_Just remember what I've said."_

"I will Mother. I've got to run; talk soon; love you." And she hung up the phone before Ryan could make it across the room.

"That was Mom? Why didn't you let me talk to her?" Ryan's voice had just slightest hint of a whine to it.

"Trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to." Ryan looked puzzled and Sharpay explained as she poured both of them a glass of iced tea. "She agrees with me ... you know ... about the abortion."

Ryan winced at the word and Sharpay chastised herself once again. She had to stop saying it in front of him.

"She did?", Ryan asked in disbelief.

"Yep, she said my career is finally taking off and I'm too young to be tied down by a child. 28 is too young to have your entire life mapped out in front of you; especially, if I would be expected to put my own ambition on the back burner to start caring for a brand-new person. And it would be the worse mistake of my life." She sounded just a little too self-satisfied as she relayed the story.

"She said that?" His voice was still incredulous.

Sharpay nodded and started scooping spoonfuls of sugar into her glass. Ryan looked thoughtful for a minute and then started counting on the fingers. He quickly gave up on that and pulled out his Blackberry and began jabbing the screen with the stylus.

"What are you doing?"

"Shar, you do know that mom was a rising star in finance when she met dad."

"Of course, we've been told that story a thousand times, Ry."

"And you do know that she just turned 57 on her last birthday."

"I've never forgotten her birthday. I always buy her something glittering and expensive ... as I should." It had always been a bone of contention between the twins because Sharpay always felt you should spend large amounts of money on your gifts and Ryan said it was the thought that counts.

"That means that mom was 28 when she became pregnant with us. And I'm sure if you did the math", he held his Blackberry up for her to see, "you'd know that we were born seven months after they got married."

Without batting an eyelash, Sharpay replied, "We were preemies, Ryan."

"Sure, we were."

"What's your point?"

"Mom got pregnant when she was 28 --- the same age as you; she got married and gave up her career to raise us and now she's telling you that it was the biggest mistake of her life. That's what I'm saying."

"Well, you're just wrong." Sharpay's voice was flippant and she didn't want to hear anymore of it. She was just happy to have someone on her side, no matter the motivation.

"Yeah, I probably did the math wrong." He went back to his tea and dropped the conversation. "And despite my misgivings, I'll still go with you to the clinic, okay?"

She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Ryan", she said in a slightly shaky voice.

"Have you heard back from Troy yet?"

She waved him off nonchalantly, trying a remain aloof, even though it did bother her. "No, but hey, it's not like I really needed him or anything. I was just trying to do my civic duty, right? And after all, this is Troy Bolton. You know what he's like; he's a keeper; husband material. And that's not what I'm after. You know men like him. Before you know it, he'll be offering to cook me dinner and expecting me to stay the night." Sharpay had always made it a point to be the one who left --- another reason she found Troy's abandonment of her so irksome. "And that's not what I want. He was my big high school crush, but now I've come to realize that he's not my type."

Immediately the line from Hamlet popped into Ryan's mind, _"__The lady doth protest too much, methinks."_ He, wisely, chose not to share this observation with his sister.

"Right ... Maybe I should call him", he offered instead.

"Don't", she snapped, a little too quickly. "Please, don't. I don't think it's worth it. Really, I'm okay."

"Are you?"

"I am ... and I'm lucky, really. I mean other than needing to pee every five minutes and feeling a little emotional, I'm really not having any side effects."

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

This one was a bit more serious than the previous ones. Please let me know what you think.

Please don't hate Sharpay in this chapter. I'm trying to be realistic here and it's different from how I normally write her.

Oh, and don't hate Chad either. He's just trying to be a good friend.

Oh, oh, and don't hate me either, either. There still wasn't any troypay in this chapter ... the darn plot just keeps getting in the way.

Now for all my research...

I thought I was going to have to go the the feminine aisle at CVS and read the labels of all the pregnancy packages, but luckily I found them all listed at

Duck's Oyster Bar really is across the street from ESPN studios on 3rd Ave in NYC. Google streetview is awesome.

And in the last chapter, I forgot to mention that their whole hotdog, Central Park, shopping trip was painstakingly mapped out also. The John Lennon Memorial in at the southern tip of Central Park and there's a hot dog cart at every entrance. Then, once they were back out on 5th Ave, Bergdorf Goodman is the closest department store even though Macy's or Saks might be more recognizable names. Now, FAO Schwartz is right across the street from Bergdorf's, but I couldn't not have them go into a Disney Store (which was just a couple of blocks away anyhow).

I think that's it with my rantings. This was a good week and I had time to write, but next week is another bad one, so please be patient on chapter 7.

Please R&R.


	7. More Hormones and a New Confidant

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 7: More Hormones and a New Confidant**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Previously...

"_I am ... and I'm lucky, really. I mean other than needing to pee every five minutes and feeling a little emotional, I'm really not having any side effects."_

"HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU HAVE DONE THIS TO ME?" Sharpay's scream reverberated off the office walls.

A week had past with no word from Gisele and now she just waltzed into the office like it was any other day. Gisele's face fell and Sharpay was suddenly livid.

"How dare you just run away with some man and not take into consideration how it would effect everyone else. How selfish could you be? Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think you're better than the rest of us ... you're different and it's okay for you to ... just get ... married?"

Donny chose that moment to walk around the corner with Sharpay's shaken black tea (she didn't want lattes anymore) and wisely veered off to the left to avoid any fallout.

"I-I'm r-really s-sorry", Gisele stammered, chest fallen. "But Edward's my soulmate."

However, Sharpay was on a roll and apparently didn't care about the model's happiness.

"It was completely irresponsible and I wouldn't be surprised if Doreen has you doing hair barrette packaging ads from now on. I can't believe you're treating us all with so much disrespect." Sharpay, promptly, burst into tears.

Sharpay ran out of the office, sobbing like a child and embarrassed as hell. She crashed through the door of the ladies room and collapsed onto the toilet where she continued crying uncontrollably into her hands.

"Sharpay?" There was a gentle knocking on the door. Donny had followed her. He sounded concerned, but she couldn't stop crying. She sounded like a child and she wanted to stop because this was her biggest nightmare come true. She lost it in front of a model and her assistant and no doubt the entire office was listening in on her breakdown. And worst of all, she didn't even know what she was crying about.

"Sharpay? Are you okay?"

There was something in Donny's voice that Sharpay found reassuring and after awhile her sobbing became hiccuping and after more time, the hiccuping slowed down until she was almost normal. She pulled some toilet paper off the roll and dried her eyes. Then, she opened the stall door to see Donny standing there with a concern expression on his face.

"Everything's okay", she said and with a smile she walked out the door. Surprisingly, she really did feel absolutely fine.

Sharpay walked back into the office with Donny trailing behind and went straight up to Gisele, who was sitting in Sharpay's chair and leafing through a magazine, _the_ magazine, in fact.

"I'm so sorry", she said sincerely. Gisele didn't look up. "Gisele, look at me."

Reluctantly, she raised her eyes and Sharapy continued, shocked at how hurt she still looked. "My behavior was appalling; I don't know what to say. It had absolutely nothing to do with you, but I took at out on you because you were an easy target. There is no excuse for the way I spoke to you and I promise it won't happen again."

She could see she was getting through. "Gisele, there's stuff going on in my personal life, not stuff I can talk about, but it's a difficult time for me. I should never have brought it into the office and I should never have taken it out on you. Can you forgive me?"

Gisele smiled a very small smile and nodded.

"Good, now let's take a look at the reader reviews of your article on . I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

They were all surprised when the day after Sharpay's life fell apart ... the day the Elle magazine spread came out and the day the found out she was pregnant ... the reader reviews on the magazine's website showed that the everyday woman loved the article. Instead of focusing on ethereal beauties with unattainable figures and airbrushed features, the magazine showed how to work with the flaws that every woman has. It was Elle's highest selling issue this year. It looked like Gisele's career wasn't shot after all.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Sharpay stopped off at the drug store on the way home again.

Every night she made sure she found a different store, just so they didn't think she'd gone completely crazy.

Every night when she got home she went straight to the bathroom with a pregnancy test, and prayed that the results would be different this time. It wasn't.

And it really didn't matter anyway because she was going to have an abortion --- just as soon as she got around to making the appointment.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

From sex kitten to blimp in five easy minutes...

Sharpay looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and sighed. She was enormous. How could she possibly be so enormous when she was ... what ... eight weeks pregnant?

She blamed a suddenly irresistible urge for chocolate...Toblerone, Twix, Reese's Butter Cups, Snickers. You named it and she'd sent Donny down to the vending machine to get it for her.

And after careful consideration, Sharpay had discovered the reason for yesterday's minor tantrum ... the machine had been out of Twix bars. Who would have thought that a butter cookie, topped with caramel and coated with milk chocolate could elicit a flood of tears? Certainly not Sharpay, at least not before yesterday. If she couldn't eat exactly what she wanted to eat, her hormones went haywire.

Today Sharpay actually walked in on some of her co-workers in the breakroom referring to someone as the Mad Bitch from Hell and it didn't take much for Sharpay to figure out they were talking about her. At least it was more imaginative than "ice princess".

Ryan called daily to see if she was okay and today he sent her a package, delivered by a really cute UPS delivery guy. What a shame she was a blimp.

She quickly tore into the mysterious box, hoping Ryan had been considerate enough to mail her a lifetime supply of chocolate bars. Unfortunately, what she got was a years supply of prenatal vitamins.

"Ryan", Sharpay hissed in a low voice through the phone lines. "Why did you send this into the office?"

"I knew you wouldn't be home to accept it and would you rather that nosy doorman get a look at it?", Ryan said. "Sharpay... look, I know you're going to have a ... uh ... you-know..." He couldn't actually say the word. "But you should be taking folic acid anyway, not just for the ba... I mean you need to be taking extra vitamins and minerals to keep yourself healthy."

"How would you know?"

"You forget, Sharpay, I'm a father..."

"Oh, Ryan!", she interrupted him with an exasperated sigh. "You are not a father; you are a sperm donor! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"But I was with her during the whole pregnancy; I read all the books", Ryan explained defensively.

"Yeah, I can just imagine that cozy little scene: you, Kelsi, and Kelsi's partner, Ellen."

Despite how excited everyone was when Ryan asked Kelsi to the prom, it was not to be. When all was said and done, they revealed that they'd gone together as each other's cover story and that they were both attracted to their own sex. After they moved to New York City to attend The Juliard School, they felt comfortable enough to come out of their respective closets, but they also both still remained good friends. When Kelsi and her life-partner, Ellen, decided to have a baby last year, they asked Ryan if he would provide the donor sperm. Ryan was thrilled and spent the entire pregnancy doting over Kelsi and learning everything he could about pregnancy. In fact he became so helpful, that Ellen actually became jealous of him and Kelsi had to ask him to back off.

"We're actually getting along much better now. Especially since I've volunteered to babysit. Little Annie just turned six months old last week and they gave her a half party with half of a cake ... isn't that clever?"

"Can she even _eat_ cake?", Sharpay asked flatly. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation.

"Well... they gave her a bite, but she spit it out."

She gave him her best I-told-you-so Hmph.

"Anywaaay... those vitamins will help with the hormones", Ryan told her, self-satisfied.

Sharpay immediately hung up on her brother and broke open the seal on one of the bottles and downed three horse-sized tablets with a large swig of not-so-iced tea. She also immediately felt the need to ... pee, of course.

After she'd returned from her 13th bathroom break of the day (and it was only 10:30), she found Doreen waiting in her cubicle. Doreen never waited for anyone in their cubicle. Thank God, she'd hidden the vitamin box in her filing cabinet.

"Hi, Doreen", Sharpay said with her most confident, motivated, career woman voice. She noticed that Doreen was staring at her trash can which was brimming over with candy wrappers. "Oh, those are Donny's. He's just like a kid sometimes." Sharpay lied with such ease it sometimes frightened her.

"I see", murmured Doreen as she crossed her arms and she propped her hip on the small counter while she seemed to be studying Sharpay.

Self-consciously, the blonde pulled her sweater around her in order to hide her newly-grown set of killer breasts and commented, "Brrrr, don't you think it's cold in here?" She added a little shiver for effect.

Doreen arched an eyebrow and finally began talking. "Everything alright, Sharpay?"

"Yes, everything's great. Everything alright with you?"

She nodded and finally looked up at Sharpay. "What in the world is going on?"

"What in the world is going on?", Sharpay echoed back with a smile. She was trying to keep the tone light, but inside her heart was pounding. _Please God, don't let me have screwed up this job which I've really come to love._

"I've heard about what happened yesterday with Gisele."

"Well, yes...

"Rumor has it you've become the Mad Bitch from Hell and since I, personally, have that title copyrighted, we have a little problem."

She blurted out the first thing that came to mind and given her current state of mind she thought she did pretty well.

"It's hormones." _... which was the absolute truth._

"Hormones?" Doreen raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young for hormonal problems?"

She was thinking about her own recent battles with the Menopause Demon --- the temper tantrums, the hot flashes... That did sound like what was happening to the young blonde.

"I was thinking about calling the doctor to take care of it." _...once again, not a lie._

Doreen stood up, seemingly satisfied with her answer and with a slight twinge of sympathy in her voice said, "Take my advise, Sharpay, don't let it go too long."

"Oh, I don't intend to, Doreen and thank you for understanding."

_That's it... she was calling the clinic today ... just as soon as she was alone._

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

It was five days later before Sharpay found that alone time. Of course, she could have called from home, but by the time she got home in the evenings, she was so tired, she usually just fell right into bed.

Today was Louise's, the office assistant, birthday and as in any organization staffed primarily with women, they loved to go out to eat, so everyone decided to take the efficient older woman out to lunch. They were going to Prune's, an eclectic little place on 1st Avenue where Sharpay knew she'd be able to find her latest craving --- a bacon-and-marmalade on pumpernickel sandwich.

"I'll catch up with you in a mo", Sharpay called as the crowd shuffled out the door, trying to decide who would ride with whom to arrive in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. "Save me a seat, Donny."

Once they'd cleared the room, Sharpay sat at her desk for a few minutes, bracing herself before picking up the phone.

"Ry, it's me."

"_How are you?"_

"Nervous. I'm going to call the clinic now. I just wanted to talk to you first."

"_You think maybe you're not doing the right thing?"_, Ryan asked hopefully.

"No, Ryan. I _am_ doing the right thing. It's just so scary having to actually do this. Look, I'm fine. Sorry." Her voice sped up now. "I'm not sure why I called; I'd better go now."

"_Good luck"_, Ryan said, but his voice was flat. _"You'll be fine. I'll come with you --- just let me know when."_

"I know Ryan and thank you."

"_I love you, Sharpay."_

"I love you too, Ry." She hung up now before her voice started to choke up.

After one more bathroom break, Sharpay picked up the phone again.

"Empire Women's Clinic. May I help you?", asked the cheerful voice on the line.

"Yes, I'd like to make an appointment?"

"Of course, for a PAP smear?"

Sharpay's voice dropped to a whisper, admitting it to someone else seemed so ... shameful. "Umm... no, it's for an abortion."

"Of course, how many weeks pregnant you are?", the woman's voice still sounded cheerful.

"I think ... eight weeks ... maybe eight and a half."

"That's fine. You'll need to come in for a consultation first. How about this Friday, at three o'clock?"

She quickly checked her Google calendar and said, "Yes, that's fine."

"Do you know where we are?"

"Yes."

"And if I can just take your details..."

Sharpay gave her the rest of the needed information and felt as if she were making a dentist appointment because it seemed so ordinary. She hung up the phone, spun around in her chair and smiled her first smile all day ... until she saw Gisele.

They just looked at one another for awhile.

"I'm so sorry." Gisele looked down at the floor. "I just came back to get my schedule for the shoot tomorrow and I walked in on your conversation and I tried not to listen, but ..."

Sharpay, who is starting to feel a bit shaky, didn't say anything and she just kept looking at Gisele who eventually looked up at her.

"I guess that explains the Mad Bitch From Hell." Gisele tried to smile and suddenly, Sharpay wanted to tell her everything.

She wanted to be able to confided in a woman closer to her own age. Something about Gisele just told Sharpay she could trust her.

"Don't tell anyone", Sharpay whispered. "Please, swear to me you won't tell."

"Oh God, of course, I swear. I swear on my life. Are you okay? How do you feel?"

Sharpay hesitated for a second, but she needed to talk about this; she had to talk about this. "Other than mad ... and bitchy, I'm fine. Oh, and angry and tearful and generally as if I'm completely losing the plot, but other than that ... Fine, can't ja tell?"

They both laughed. Something about the way Gisele was looking at her gave Sharpay the courage or audacity to ask the next question. "Have you ever had an abortion?"

"Yeah", Gisele sighed, "It was a long time ago when I was in high school."

A thought suddenly came to Sharpay. "Was it Prince Edward?" She remembered that they had dated in high school.

Gisele giggled. "It's Edward Prince, Sharpay. And no, it wasn't him. I met him right after ... he helped me to get over it. I was so young and stupid."

Sharpay interrupted. "Right... young ... now that you're the ripe old age of 23."

"Well, it seems like a long time ago now ... and when you're younger, I think you don't process things the same way. It probably bothers me more now than it did then." She stopped, thinking she'd said the wrong thing.

"I'd prefer if you tell me the truth", Sharpay said to reassure her. "You don't have to sugar-coat things."

"It's difficult; I do think about it a lot now, but I know there was no way I was ready to have a child at 17. I guess you're not ready either."

"No, I'm not ready for a child; I don't want a child. Never have. I want a career, independence, freedom. I don't want to be trapped by a baby. Plus there's the fact that I don't actually have a partner so it's not even as if I'd have any support ... emotional, financial or otherwise."

"It's Troy Bolton's, isn't it?", Gisele said simply, after Sharpay drifted into silence.

Sharpay nodded and said, "How did you know?"

"I knew something happened that night. The chemistry between you two was so strong I could almost touch it."

"I thought you were drunk."

"I was, but not so much that I couldn't see what was happening."

Then, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask and I know I'm a married woman now, but still... was it ... fucking amazing?"

Sharpay smiled widely, which was extraordinary, given the circumstances, but it was so good to be able to talk about it.

"Shit!", Gisele stamped her foot petulantly and then rolled her eyes. "He could have been mine. So are you going to tell him?"

"I'm trying... I called and left him a message, but he hasn't returned the call. It's sort of disheartening."

"You told him you were pregnant in a voicemail?"

"Noooo... I left a message with the office assistant. I just said that we needed to talk."

"You really need to talk to him. He thinks he's infertile and obviously, he's not."

"I know, but what do I say?"

"How about, _Babe, your boys can swim_?", she said with a seductive drawl to her voice.

Sharpay started to laugh. "Seriously", Gisele continued, "Let me take care of this for you. I'll call and arrange for the two of you to meet for lunch."

"What?"

"It's the least I could do. After all, you rescued me from a life of obscurity, right?", Gisele said a knowing smile.

Sharpay felt like leaping up and hugging the younger woman, but restrained herself. She'd been showing enough emotion lately, anyway. "I just want to thank you, Gisele. Being able to talk to another woman... I just feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

"Anytime. And if you want me to go with you ..."

"That's okay, my brother, Ryan, said he'd go with me."

"Come on", Gisele looked at her watch. "If we leave now, we'll just make it to the restaurant in time for coffee."

"Eww, coffee?"

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

The idea of Ryan being Kelsi's sperm donor is actually based on a real-life experience of my brother. He was asked by a lesbian couple if he would be their 'donor'. He used to date one of the women before she 'switched teams' (okay, no jokes about my brother driving her to it --- it's not funny ROFL; I'm lying ... it's outrageously funny and maybe even true)... Anyway, he also felt like the other one (the one he hadn't driven to the other side) was jealous of him and he tactfully said no.

They actually got the 1st cousin of one and used his 'donation' to impregnate the other one so then the baby had some of the genetics of the 'dad' or non-pregnant partner. God, this is hard to write with all the which one's which and all.

Anyhow, that's where that idea came from.

I SWEAR Troy will be in the next chapter.

Please R&R.


	8. The Lunch

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 8: The Lunch**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Okay, so Gisele wasn't completely honest with Sharpay when she said she'd arrange for Troy to meet Sharpay for lunch. Deep down inside something told her something was fishing with him not returning her phone call. And even though she thought Troy Bolton was a great guy, maybe ... just maybe he was avoiding Sharpay. Troy Bolton, ESPN employee, however, wouldn't avoid a lunch date with Shaquille O'Neal.

Therefore, Shaq's manager, who sounded remarkably like her husband, Edward, called Troy and arranged a lunch date between the two. Since O'Neal's retirement in 2010, he had become very reclusive and guarded his personal time very closely. Troy jumped at the chance to interview one of the legends of the court.

The next day he arrived at restaurant fifteen minutes early so he could go over his questions and calm his nerves. Having the opportunity to interview one of his all-time heroes was having more of an affect on him than he would have imagined a few days ago. Troy made of couple of notes about what he wanted to ask the basketball great and took a drink from his wine glass.

Sharpay was uncharacteristically nervous when she walked into Sangria's. However this Hell's Kitchen mainstay was one of her favorite restaurants and that helped alleviate her anxiety. Sangria 46, as it was officially known, served traditional Spanish cuisine which while it wasn't the Southwestern food that she preferred was still very good. And to be honest, she wasn't really up to spicy food right now anyway.

_There he is..._

Sharpay spotted Troy immediately sitting at one of the small two-person tables at the rear of the restaurant. He was studying a small flip notebook and didn't see her approach. She walked straight to the table with much more poise and confidence than she was feeling. She stopped at couple of feet from the table and even managing a weak smile.

"Troy..."

Troy looked up with confusion and wariness etched on his face. "Sharpay...", he murmured in genuine surprise. "What a coincidence seeing you here."

She pulled out her chair and sat down. Troy looked awkward and stole a quick look over her shoulder toward the front door.

"What do you mean? You obviously got the message to meet here for lunch, right?"

"Meet you for lunch? I'm waiting for a lunch meeting with Shaquille O'Neal."

"Shaquille O'Neal? Now, what are _you_ talking about? Gisele called you yesterday to arrange this meeting." Sharpay was starting to become angry which was actually a good thing since it gave her something else on which to focus.

"What message? And the only phone call I got yesterday was from Shaq's manager to arrange this lunch meeting." Troy pulled his napkin out of his laTp and threw it down on the table. It suddenly dawned on him what was happening. "Damn! That wasn't Shaq's manager, was it? I should have known. He'd never meet with me … I'm a nobody." He slummed down into his chair and looked like a kicked puppy.

Sharpay reached across and took his hand as if it was the most natural thing to do. "That's not true. You're famous. Ryan even knows who you are."

Troy looked up in surprise at her gesture and stared into Sharpay's beautifully smiling face, a real one, this time.

"But I don't understand... do you think Gisele set this up? Why would she do that?"

"Don't know … Maybe it had something to do with you not returning my message from two weeks ago. Maybe she thought you wouldn't come if you thought you were meeting me."

"I never got it", he responded quietly. His anxious feelings were starting to subside the longer he held her hand.

"What?"

"A message... I never got a message from you, Sharpay. I swear."

"Oh... well, I-It just said to call me so we could talk and now... here we are."

"Yeah..." He gave her hand a little squeeze.

The waiter arrived with menus and they pulled away from each other to place their orders. Neither looked up until the waiter left them.

"So...", Troy asked, "How's life?"

"Fine... Yours?"

"It's okay."

Their close moment from earlier was quickly forgotten and an awkward silence took its place.

"Sharpay, why are we having lunch together?"

Sharpay put down her glass of water. Any illusion she had that they could have a nice meal with her casually throwing in the fact that she was pregnant over coffee just disappeared. She had no choice; it was now or never. "Because I'm pregnant."

"Congratulations."

"Is that it?"

"Well, I'm not sure what else I should be saying."

"Neither am I, Troy, but some kind of emotion would be nice." She sighed, "Look... I'm not expecting you to take responsibility and I certainly don't need any money, but I just thought you ought to know because you told me that night that you were infertile and ..."

"What?", Troy whispered. He had turned as pale as the starched white tablecloth and Sharpay couldn't help but recognize the look on his face as the same bewildered 'WTF' look he had through a most of high school.

"What do you mean, _what_?", she shot back at him.

Troy shook his head, clearly in shock. "What are you … talking about?"

Sharpay took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm … pregnant." She enunciated slowly. "And … you're … the … father."

His eyes widened; his mouth opened and an expression of pure joy crossed his face … but only for a second. He went back to looking wary. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I haven't slept with anyone else for months. I'm sure."

And then, before Sharpay even realized what was happening, Troy jumped up, came around the table and put his arms around her.

"Oh, my God", he whispered, putting his hands on her stomach as Sharpay started to feel truly sick for the very first time in this pregnancy. "Oh, my God", he repeated. "My baby... growing in there is my baby." With those words his eyes welled up and tears of joy threatened to roll down his cheeks. He blinked them back with a goofy grin on his face.

_How on earth am I supposed to do this?_, Sharpay thought to herself.

Gently, she removed his arms from around her stomach and as he returned to his seat, she noticed that his whole face was beaming. She didn't know how she could do this to a man who was so obviously good. However, she must.

"How long have you known?" Troy couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I'm almost nine weeks pregnant and I'm telling you because you have a right to know that you're not infertile, but..." She faltered for a second. "... Troy … I'm not … ready to have a baby."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I can't have this baby. That it wouldn't have been fair to hide it from you, but that you need to know I'm planning on having an abortion." He visibly flinched, but she continued. "I have an appointment tomorrow at the clinic, but I think the operation will be done in the next couple of weeks. It needs to be done before the twelfth week."

Troy was silent.

"Troy?", she said hesitantly. "Troy?", she tried again, a little more strongly. "Come on, Troy. Think about it. Despite the fact that we've known each other since elementary school, we don't really know each other and it's hardly fair to bring a child into this world without two loving parents. This isn't right."

"We could be together", Troy said quickly. "We could try. We know each well enough that maybe we'd have a chance."

"What about your divorce? Now's hardly a time to jump straight into another relationship."

"You're going to think I'm just saying this because of the baby..." Sharpay squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable with him referring to 'the baby'. "but divorcing Gabriella has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I feel as if the cloud that's been following me around is gone and it's not Gabriella's fault, not entirely, it's both of us together... we weren't happy and we weren't right for each other … not anymore... probably not ever." He sighed sadly, lost in memories for awhile. Then, he continued, "We'd grown so far apart, we couldn't find our way back, but neither of us was willing to accept it." He looked deeply into Sharpay's eyes. "But that's got nothing to do with us. We could try", he repeated.

"Troy..." Her voice was gentle as she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it to press the point, to make him understand. "I don't want a child. I don't like babies. Stores like BabiesRUs make me break out in hives. And the thought of having a screaming infant in my house is enough to make my blood run cold. I can't do this. I'm a career woman, not a mother. I'm just not the type."

Troy sat up straight and squeezed her hand in return as he countered, "But this is my child too. I've waited for this child for years."

"And now you need to wait some more … to have a child with someone else."

"You don't understand... my child is here … our child. You're carrying our child. You can't just make the decision to destroy it because I may or may not create another child with someone else."

Sharpay dropped her voice to a hiss. "But it's my _body_." She was starting to feel stressed, emotional and she could feel tears of frustration welling up. "It's my body and I'm not ready to give it up. Nor am I ready to deal with the responsibility of a child."

"What if I take on the responsibility? What if I have the child … raise the child", he corrected. "You could keep on living like you're living. Christ, you could even be back at work a couple of weeks afterward."

Sharpay was so tired, she didn't have the energy to argue with him anymore. Troy saw the chink in her armor and dove in. "Look, what I'm saying is, think about it … at the very least, cancel the appointment tomorrow to give us both a bit more time … even a week, a couple of weeks. Let's take a bit of time, so that when we make a final decision, we know it's the right one. You wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life regretting your decision to have an abortion when you didn't give yourself a chance to consider the other options."

"I'm too tired to argue with you", she sighed as their food arrived. "I'll cancel the appointment tomorrow, but I don't want to wait longer than a week. I just want my life to be back to normal again."

Troy lifted his wine glass and shot Sharpay a grin and in his grin there is delight, excitement, and anticipation. "Am I allowed to make a toast?", he asked tentatively.

"Not if you're going to toast the baby", she shot back defensively.

"No... to us."

"To us", she echoed wearily as she gently clinked his glass.

Troy was charming, funny and protective. He treated Sharpay almost like an invalid throughout the entire lunch. And although under normal circumstances, this would be enough to make her walk out in a fury, right now, given her fragile state, it was exactly what she needed.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The next day, Sharpay was sitting at her desk finalizing Gisele's schedule. She was now a hot commodity on the interview circuit because of the popularity of her 'bad day' article. And as was normal for a Friday afternoon, the office was practically deserted. She finished her work and leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes for a few minutes because this tiredness swept over her in waves and all she could think of was sleep. However, she knew that a few minutes of resting her eyes would enable her to make it through the rest of the day.

She knew most of the office staff would head off to the bars after work to drink off the stress of the workweek. Sharpay wouldn't be joining them. These days the only thing she was interested in after work was a large bowl of pasta, a chunky bar of chocolate, a hot bath and bed. Last night she relished how wonderful it felt to snuggle up under the duvet with the air conditioner set at 65 degrees at ten past eight and watch her DVD collection of Friends.

She was still leaning back with her eyes closed when there came a knock on the outside of her cubicle wall. She opened her eyes to see Troy standing there with a bag from Barnes and Noble.

"Hi." He hovered awkwardly until she smiled and gestured to the chair.

"Hi, yourself." She was surprised at how pleased she was to see him. There was something immensely calm and reassuring about him. Although she would have never said that about him on the night when she placed a drunken Gisele in that taxi cab. Calm and reassuring were not the words she would have used to describe him that night … the night of conception. Christ... she hadn't thought of that. Imagine if she did have a baby... imagine them asking when they were conceived and having to explain that it was during a drunken night of debauchery. All the more reason to not have this baby.

"I just wondered how you were feeling." Troy laid the bag on the desk and she eyed it curiously. "Although now I think you might be a bit pissed off." He frowned when she looked suspiciously at the bag. "In fact I think I've done something really stupid and maybe I should take the books back and leave right now." He moved to take the bag, but she grabbed it and pulled out two books: What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Pregnancy Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy.

_Oh, shit!_

"I'm sorry", Troy said warily. "I thought that since we haven't made a decision … you know … just in case you do decide to keep the baby … you might want to know some stuff."

"Like what stuff?"

"Like the kind of stuff you shouldn't be eating."

"Such as..." She didn't know why she bothered to ask.

"Sushi, unpasteurized cheese, liver."

"I see you've become quite the expert."

"I knew I shouldn't have done it", he sighed. "I'll take them back."

"No! Wait, I want to show you something." She flipped through The Pregnancy Journal until she found what she was looking for: a picture of a baby at nine weeks. It was a blob, a nothing. "That...", she turned the book around and shoved it toward Troy, "is what the baby looks like."

It didn't have the desired effect. Troy shook his head. "Incredible", he said in awe while Sharpay sighed and wondered how he could think a shapeless blob that resembled nothing very much could be incredible. "Would you look at the books?", he asked finally. "Just the early stuff about keeping yourself healthy … just in case."

"Okay", she nodded, knowing she'd dropped them in the nearest trash can as soon as she left work. "Sure, I can do that."

"So... what are you up to this weekend?"

His tone was too fake-casual to be believed.

"A party tonight, a bar tomorrow afternoon with friends, then, the club in the evening. I think Sunday I'll take it easy and stay at home with a few beers."

Troy looked horrified. "You are … joking, right?"

"Of course, I'm joking", she snapped. "I'm exhausted. My idea of a good time right now involves a bottle of bubble bath and bed by 10 p.m." She didn't tell him it was actually bed by 8 p.m. She didn't want to sound too pitiful.

"Do you … um … well, I thought, maybe, we could … go out or something. We could go out for dinner or something."

"Oh, for crying out loud!"

"What's wrong?"

"Troy... you don't have to coddle me by pretending to be interested in me because I'm carrying your child and you don't have to waste your time trying to be nice to me in the hope that you'll bring me around to your way of thinking. I don't want a relationship and I don't want a baby. And going out to dinner with you isn't going to change that. Do you understand?"

"Sure." He stood up, his face hard. "I understand perfectly." Without saying another word, he turned and left the office, leaving Sharpay feeling like shit … once again.

Right before she left for the day, the messenger arrived with a package for Sharpay. Inside was a large bottle of bubble bath from Bath and Body Works and a note.

"_Sharpay, I wasn't trying to coddle you. Please enjoy your bubble bath, not too hot though. -Troy" _

Good. At least it didn't say, "Love, Troy". She didn't think she could handle that.

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

"...and Sharpay couldn't help but recognize the look on his face as the same bewildered 'WTF' look he had through a most of high school."

Special thanks for Clotisy for speculating on Troy reaction --- she nailed it! And I used her idea.

Yay!!! They meet again. And me thinks Troy has a plan.

What say you? Please R&R.


	9. Getting to Know You

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 9: Getting to Know You**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Two weeks later, she agreed to meet him for a drink at lunchtime. Troy had a Sam Adams; Sharpay, an Evian.

"Are you sure you want to be seen with me so close to work?", Sharpay asked as Troy waved to yet another patron who seemed to know him.

Troy laughed. "They'll think we're having an affair."

"Better that, than we're having a baby."

He looked up sharply. "Are we? Are you ready to talk about it yet?"

"Not yet, but... soon. We can talk about it … soon."

She stopped as Troy reached over and pulled something out of her hair, just a piece of lint, but it unnerved her, this gesture that was too intimate for old high school friends and she suddenly realized what a bizarre situation this was. There she was … sitting with a man whom she'd crushed on all through high school and now ten years later, ten years too late, she found herself pregnant … by that very same crush. Oh, she would have loved for this to have happened way back then. She would have relished it … rubbed in the face's of all those jocks and brainaics, especially one particular, Gabriella Montez. But now... she realized she didn't even know him, sure she'd more than willingly pulled him into her bed, but that was just the final fulfillment of her high school dreams. It wasn't real. She didn't have a clue who he was. She didn't know his likes or dislikes. She didn't know if he was lazy or industrious, neat or a complete slob and yet... she was carrying his child.

Sharpay tried to imagine what his life must have been like since they parted ways ten years ago. She knew he played professional basketball right after college and therefore, was thrown immediately into a high tax bracket with all the perks that entailed. His first large purchase would have been a vintage sports car, then the largest screen television currently on the market. Despite the reputations of sports stars, she knew he wouldn't have been overly flashing, however, but would have still spent his money on extravagant gifts: a cruise for his parents and jewelry for Gabriella. Then, his first career ended abruptly, to be replaced by an even more lucrative one which he seemed to truly love, much like herself, in fact.

"Why are you smiling at me like that? Now people really will start to talk."

Troy's voice broke her train of thought and she realized she was gazing at him with a half-smile on her face, trying to figure out who he was.

"Sorry, I was just thinking what a ridiculous situation this is … that I'm pregnant with your child, but I know nothing about you, not the grown-up you."

"Tell you what...", he said, smiling. "I'm not coddling you, but why don't you come over on Sunday. Come to my apartment and spend the day. Find out who I really am … and I can do the same with you."

"Okay", she said, surprising herself. "I will."

"Okay." Troy finished the last of his lager. "Good."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

That night as she walked into her apartment, her cell started to ring.

"How are you, Shar?", Ryan asked, sounding more chipper than he'd sounded in weeks, since she told him about the pregnancy, in fact.

"I'm fine; how are you?"

"Never mind about me", he said a little too quickly. "Have you made a decision yet?"

"Ryan, I told you that I'd tell you as soon as I decided … we'd decided. Don't push me, please."

She was nearly twelve weeks. That deadline was looming and yet all she could do was procrastinate. Why hadn't she just done it? Because she didn't want to think about it, that's why. Much less talk about it … to Ryan or anyone else. She was still hoping it would all go away.

"I'm not pushing. I just wanted to check if you were okay. I thought you might want to go to a museum on Sunday. I have some interesting news."

"I can't; I'm busy", she replied quickly, too quickly.

"Busy? Really?"

His tone was so incredulous, she started to laugh.

"If I tell you where I'm going, promise me you won't get too excited."

"Scout's honor."

"You were never a boy scout, Ryan." She sighed. "I'm going to Troy's place for lunch."

"That's wonderful!" She could hear the excitement in his voice. "Can he cook?"

"I have no idea, but I assume we won't be having a McDonald's Big Mac Value Meal."

"Hey, I happen to love Big Mac's. And after all, not all men can cook, you know."

"Come on, Ryan. You know as well as I do, he's just trying to get me to keep the baby."

"You think you might?" His voice was dripping with hope.

"Ryaaan! How many times do I have to tell you? I haven't made up my mind."

They said goodbye and Sharpay gazed into space for a few minutes because two weeks ago she had already made up her mind. Two weeks ago, she was going to have an abortion and carry on with her life as if nothing had ever happened. And now... she didn't know. When had doubt crept in? And how could she possibly think that she had any alternative? Why had she not been able to reschedule an appointment at the abortion clinic? What was she thinking?

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Gisele kept asking her how she felt. They had become frighteningly close in a frighteningly short amount of time. She came by Sharpay's apartment Saturday afternoon, just popped in on her way back from a shopping trip in midtown, just checking that she was okay. She brought Chinese take-out and ended up staying until after dinner. Edward, she explained, was working on a huge project for his English Lit class and it was better if she stayed away from her place so he could work. Or so she said. Sharpay suspected it was just an excuse for her to stay longer.

They stuffed themselves on carton after carton of delicious dishes. They told her secrets over lo mein, giggled over General Tsao's Chicken and bonded over almond cookies.

"I miss this", Gisele said as she fed a fortune cookie to Boi who was luxuriating on the sofa between the two women.

"What? Staying in on a Saturday night and eating like a pig?"

"Well, yeah... of course, I miss that too."

They both laughed.

"But I'm talking about this kind of girl bonding stuff. I miss the ease of girlfriends; I miss the comfort of being able to come over to someone's house like this and not having to worry about what you look like or what you talk about. Oh, I'm not saying you're my BFF or anything."

"Careful...", Sharpay warned, but she was smiling because she felt exactly the same way. "Stalker alert."

"Now you're definitely not my BFF! Stalker, huh? But seriously, I miss having a best friend. You know what I mean?"

"My best friend was always my brother", Sharpay told her flatly.

"God, you're joking! I hate my brother. We can barely stand to stay in the same room together."

"Well, he's my twin, so we've always had each other. Oh, sure I had some girlfriends at the country club, but they were just hangers-on because my parents owned the club. But I don't really have any female friends in the city and I hadn't realized how much I've missed it."

"It's good being a woman." Gisele raised her glass. "To the sisterhood!"

"To the sisterhood … and to friendship."

Sharpay went to bed with a smile on her face, feeling that being pregnant might not be the worst thing to happen to her, feeling, in fact, that her life really wasn't so bad after all.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Sunday was one of those early fall days where the air was just starting to become crisp and the leaves were beginning to turn into those gloriously fiery reds and muted yellows which Sharpay so loved. The magnificent changing of the seasons was her favorite part about living on the east coast. And now the sun is shining on this crisp early autumn day and she was feeling good, looking forward to doing something different, even if she wasn't sure about spending the day with Troy. What if they had nothing in common? What if they had nothing to talk about?

She was just putting the finishing touches on her wardrobe, picking a pair of large hoop earrings because she read somewhere that wearing large jewelry near her face would distract people from staring at her rapidly expanding waistline. Maybe it wasn't that much larger, but it certainly felt like it.

"So what?", she said aloud to her mirror. "I'm not checking him out to see if he's husband material. I'm just trying to get to know him a little before he and I make the most important decision of _my_ life. That's all."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Troy met her in the lobby of his apartment. "Hi, did you have any problems finding the place?"

Sharpay's immediate response was to laugh, not at the question, but at the apron which Troy was wearing. At least it didn't have one of those hokey slogans like "Kiss the Cook" or anything.

"Nope", she replied through her giggles, "the cab driver dropped me off right in front. I love New York."

She took a moment to look around at the underwhelming and barren lobby. There was no doorman as in her building, no artwork on the walls, nothing to make the place appear welcoming. It looked amazingly like a warehouse. She tried to hide her disappointment, but obviously wasn't successful.

"I know it's not much to look at, but believe it or not, this is my dream crib."

"Crib? What did you do, become a rapper when I wasn't looking?"

Ignoring her comment, Troy motioned for her to follow him. "It's down this way."

Sharpay cautiously followed him down an equally barren corridor until they came to a steel-gray freight elevator. Troy deftly opened the safety gate by pulling it to the left and then grabbed onto a wide canvas strap and pulled open the inner door which separated in the center where the top half slid up and the bottom half slid down into the floor. The end result of the entire operation revealed a stark battle-ship gray interior with riveted steel panels making up the walls, floor and ceiling. It was completely industrial.

"Right this way", Troy said proudly.

"You're kidding. This is your elevator?"

"Hey", Troy replied in mock offense, "this was incredibly handy when I was moving in."

She could definitely see his point there. The movers nearly broke their backs getting all of her things into her apartment. The baby grand piano, alone, cost an extra $1,000 just to get it into her place. But she wasn't about to tell him that.

After performing the elevator door ritual again, in reverse, Troy pushed a button and the elevator slowly started moving up. From the amount of time they were on the thing, Sharpay imagined they had probably traveled twenty stories or more, but since there was no floor indicator on the wall, she had no way of knowing. Finally, the elevator lurched to a stop and Troy went through the same steps to exit open the doors. Sharpay could see this getting old fast.

They stepped off the elevator and directly into his apartment, his incredibly large, brilliantly lit and gorgeously decorated apartment. Sharpay was speechless as she slowly turned around to take in the sight. As in her apartment, one wall was floor-to-ceiling windows. The difference came in the size of the wall; Troy's walls were twenty feet high and his window looked out onto an incredible view of the Hudson River. And the rest of the apartment was equally impressive. The entire apartment was one huge room which looked like it was the size of a basketball court with weathered wide-plank oak floors throughout. In fact if Sharpay's eyes weren't deceiving her, at the far end of the room was, indeed, a full-sized basketball goal mounted on a support bracket which hung down from the ceiling, just like in their old high school gymnasium. That was when she realized, to her astonishment, that this apartment took up an entire floor of the building. There must have only been one apartment per floor.

A large sectional sofa sat around a cozy pot-bellied stove which she was sure would be quite romantic on cold winter nights. And of course, there was that larger-than-life television she had imagined earlier. If truth be told, the television was the only thing in this place that Sharpay had envisioned correctly.

At the opposite end of the cavernous room was a set of stairs which led up to what must be a bedroom loft above them. Sharpay could just imagine how magnificent the view must be from up there with the sun setting over the river or how warm and comfortable it would be to wake up in Troy's bed and hear him walking up those stairs, bringing her a steaming cup of fresh-brewed coffee.

"Whadaya think, huh?", Troy was suddenly standing right behind her and she could feel his warm breath on her shoulder.

"Oh, it's lovely", she replied nonchalantly as she stepped away from him, pretending that she wasn't just fantasizing about a life with him.

They walked over to the gourmet kitchen which sat in the middle of the apartment with black granite countertops and stainless steel, top-of-the-line appliances. Calphalon cookware was bubbling on the Thermador cooktop and smelled wonderful.

"Drink?", he asked as he poured what looked suspiciously like carrot juice into a glass.

"That looks disgusting. I think I'll pass." She sniffed it cautiously.

"It's not disgusting. It's delicious and nutritious --- a homemade banana-mango smoothie. Try it."

She tried it. It was delicious and nutritious. "Mmmm. This _is_ good. And that smells completely amazing." She indicated the various pots and pans simmering on the stove, but the smell was definitely coming from the oven. "Who would have thought the famous Troy Bolton could cook?"

"Well, I needed something to do when I was recovering from all those knee surgeries, so I took some classes and discovered I loved it. Here, sit down."

He pulled a chair out from the bar which sat adjacent the work area and Sharpay sat down. He offered her a selection of snacks and she asked, "What, no nuts?" She'd peeked into the books he'd bought her and read that pregnant women who binge on nuts often give birth to babies with severe peanut allergies. She knew he'd know this too.

"Uh, haven't got any, I'm afraid. You're not … um … craving nuts, are you?", he asked nervously.

Sharpay couldn't help it, she started to laugh. "Relax", she reassured him. "I haven't had a single peanut in three months."

Troy sighed in relief.

She got up and carried her drink into the living room area, examining his book shelves, stereo system, and collection of knickknacks. Suddenly she realized that he must have moved in here after the divorce and therefore, Gabriella had never lived here. For some reason, that made her feel better. There wasn't a single sign of a woman living here. Nothing. The pictures were mostly of his parents and Chad and Taylor, whom Sharpay noted had changed little since high school. There were no pictures of Gabriella and this made her feel _much_ better.

His books mostly consisted, unsurprisingly, of sports books: histories, biographies, sports-medicine and such. It was all very masculine.

"I take it you moved in here after the divorce?"

"Yep, like I said in the lobby, it's always been sort of a dream of mine to live in a place like this. The apartment I had with Gabriella was just too big."

Sharpay nearly choked on her smoothie. "Too big?", she managed to say and then covered quickly by adding, "It sounds like you were just two very different people."

"Tell me something else I don't know." He smiled sadly.

She was watching him closely. "Sooo... how are you feeling … you know since the divorce and all?"

"Sad at the lose of our relationship, but relieved at the same time. I think more than anything else, I feel an huge sense of relief. I think what I miss most is being in a relationship, but even that's ridiculous because we barely spent any time together after she started working at the law firm. Anyway, enough about me." He was starting to look uncomfortable with the conversation. "Are you hungry? I think it should be just about ready."

They went into the kitchen and sat down to posole soup with homemade tortillas. Posole, with its perfect combination of pork, hominy, garlic, onion, chili peppers, and cilantro was one of Sharpay's all-time favorites. She slurped it up like she was starving and then sat back, eagerly awaiting the main course.

"This is so delicious", she moaned, three mouthfuls into her chile relleno. "I haven't eaten like this since I lived at home."

"That's what Gabriella used to say when I first learned to cook, but then I think she got bored."

"Bored with rellenos? Is she crazy?"

"Bored with living with someone who loves being at home."

"Oh, please... Home is the best possible place to be."

"Now, you're surprising me." Troy raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're a party girl, a career woman; home life isn't your thing."

"You're right. I used to be quite the partier in college, but now that I'm working so hard during the day, home has become much more important to me. The last thing I want to do after work is go out and live it up. But shhhh", she whispered. "Don't tell anyone. Seriously, I love being at home by myself, being totally selfish and not having to compromise for anybody. Whereas you, on the other hand, are a completely different person."

"What'dya mean?"

She sighed. "Some day, Troy... you'll make someone a wonderful wife."

He smiled back at her wryly. "Only if ironing isn't written into the marriage contract."

"Oh, so you mean there is something you're not good at?"

"I didn't say I wasn't good at it. I, naturally, am God's gift to ironing", he said, grinning. "But it's the one thing I can't stand. The one thing I pay someone else to do."

"What about the maid who keeps this place looking so clean?"

"You got me... Esperanza comes in twice a week to clean, but I do all the cooking. I even cook for her sometimes."

"Oh?", Sharpay raised her water glass and gave him a look. "And what else do you do for her?"

"She's 64 years old and has five grandchildren who love my homemade bread. The secret is … I knead the dough by hand --- no bread machines, that's cheating. Plus, it's great exercise for my hands, relieves stress." He held up his hands and they were _very_ nice, big hands … strong hands.

Imagine what those hands could do? Sharpay had forgotten what those hands had already done. A shiver ran through her. Stop it! This was the very last thing she needed. She nodded, still staring at his fingers.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

After lunch, Sharpay collapsed onto the sofa in the living room. Troy sat a tray of biscochitos on the coffee table. He made the cookies, of course, and they looked just as delicious as everything else. She relaxed into the cushions as she heard Troy frothing the milk for her decaf chai latte.

… And then, she woke up...

The light was dim; it was dark outside and for a moment Sharpay was completely disoriented. Then, she saw Troy, sitting on the sofa opposite to her, reading the Sunday Times. She sat up quickly, embarrassed at having fallen asleep and horrified at the thought of drooling on his cushions while she was unconscious.

Troy looked up at her and smiled. "Hello, Sleepy … or should I say, Grumpy?"

She was in no mood to smile back. Thinking what her hair must look like after falling asleep, she reached up to smooth it down.

"Ready for that latte, now?"

She nodded gratefully and watched him as he walked back toward the kitchen.

She wandered what an idiot Gabriella must have been to mess up a life with this guy. Not that she was interested... She didn't feel anything more now than she had this morning. She'd had a lovely day and he was everything she imagined him to be … and more. However, she wasn't interested in him in that way. The one thing she had to admit while she was leaning back in the taxi on her way home was that it had been wonderful being looked after all day. She hadn't really been looked after like that by anyone other than Ryan. And she wasn't sure that really counted.

Oh, and one other thing... she agreed to have an ultrasound … just to be on the safe side.

**TBC**

Author's Notes: People should be happy now … I hope and I also hope everyone likes the grown-up Troy. He's really matured a lot since high school.

Oh, and I have to be a complete review whore here and point out just how darn proud I am of two paragraphs in this chapter. When they're having drinks in the bar and he reaches over and pulls the lint out of her hair and she starts thinking about them --- that paragraph and the one after it.

Anyway, I, personally, thought that sounded pretty good.


	10. She's Ready to Talk

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 10: She's Ready to Talk**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Sharpay still wasn't sure why she agreed to have the scan. She was tired; it had been a long day; and she felt so … comfortable, so … nurtured that she didn't want to spoil it all by having an argument. She really could see that Troy would be a wonderful father, which helped. She supposed she never really thought about the reality of the situation before. She'd only thought that she'd be stuck with a child she didn't want, that she'd turn into a stressed out, single mother who tried desperately to juggle her child with a career and a string of unsuitable boyfriends.

But after that day at Troy's, after seeing what he was like, where he lived, how he lived, she could see that she wouldn't be on her own and more than that, she could see that it wouldn't have been fair to deprive him of what he so desperately wanted.

They could share a child. Maybe Troy would have the child during the week and she'd have it on the weekends. A picture of a little girl who looked just like Sharpay, sprang into her head --- a little girl wearing frilly pink dresses and little patented leather Mary-Janes, with her blond hair in pig tails. Her little girl would be so sweet and good that everyone would stop to smile at them, marvel at how Sharpay Evans, the head of Wildcat Modeling Agency, … if you're going to have a fantasy, there's no point in being half-assed about it ... managed to bring up such a well-behaved child. She'd be the perfect accessory. They would go to the park wearing big boots and wool hats and handsome single men would find them irresistible. Then, they'd spend their evenings reading Dr. Seuss in front of the fire. Sharpay could teach her everything she knew, watch her grow into a little person with her own thoughts, own opinions and Sharpay could stand back proudly as she grew into a beautiful woman.

Mmmm.... The thought of a little Sharpay was really rather appealing.

So when Troy gently suggested that it might be a good idea to see a doctor and have an ultrasound, Sharpay agreed. Although it didn't mean she'd made a decision. It didn't mean she was definitely keeping the baby. Not … definitely.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Can you see the leg move?"

Sharpay was lying down on the table, craning her neck around to see the screen while the technician pressed down on her stomach and kept her eye on the screen, stopping only to take measurements.

Troy sat next to her, holding her hand, which in other circumstances she might not like, but now was enormously reassuring. They both stared at the screen and Sharpay had no idea what the technician was talking about because she couldn't see anything at all other than a greenish tunnel.

Suddenly, her heart flipped over; Troy and she gasped and squeezed each other's hands tightly.

"Oh, my God", they whispered in unison. "Did you see that?"

Suddenly, the screen became clear like one of those optical illusions where if you stare at it the right way, the picture revealed itself. There was a tiny leg kicking up in the air and they followed the leg up as they started to find the shape of a baby … their baby.

"Oh, my God", Sharpay repeated as she quickly came to the realization that there was a living being inside of her. She turned quickly to Troy who had tears in his eyes and a huge smile on his face. They grinned wordlessly at one another before they turned quickly back to the screen so they didn't miss anything.

"Can you see the spine?" The technician pressed the wand down and to the left and pointed to the screen.

Sharpay nodded, a lump suddenly in her throat.

"Oops, baby's on the move!", she laughed.

Sharpay watched in awe as an arm stretched out and the baby arched its back. She started to laugh and … cry.

"Don't worry", the technician said and handed Sharpay a tissue from a box at her side. "First time parents often find it a bit overwhelming. It's incredible, isn't it? That's your baby." She smiled indulgently at them. "Everything seems to be fine. See that flickering there?" A tiny flickering, barely noticeable, could be seen where she was pointing. "That's the baby's heartbeat. Nice and strong. You're 13 weeks and 5 days?" Sharpay nodded. "Now if you come back after 24 weeks, we can do a 3D scan which is really exciting. At this point, however, the baby hasn't gained enough body fat to show it to its full beauty. But, the measurements are incredibly precise at this stage", she said. "So the due date is ..."

She turned to check, but Troy and Sharpay got there first. "The 21st of April", they both said.

"That's Easter Sunday... be prepared, you'll get lots of Easter bunnies as gifts", she said, grinning.

Sharpay didn't laugh because it was at this point that she knew there was no going back. Her life from this moment forward was irrevocably changed.

The technician continued for a while and Sharpay tried to follow the shape of the baby, but every time the screen changed all she could see were indistinct blobs. And after a while, she stopped looking and turned to Troy.

"Are you okay?", he whispered, giving her hand another squeeze.

She nodded. "You?"

"I think this is the greatest day of my life", he said, smiling.

She smiled back. She didn't need to tell him she felt exactly the same way.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Troy took her home and went into the kitchen to heat up a Styrofoam cup of Ramen noodles, her latest craving. Sharpay went to her bedroom and pulled out the plastic bag from Barnes and Noble. Despite what she planned earlier, she had never gotten around to throwing it away. Page 39 of The Pregnancy Journal told her exactly what she wanted to know.

_Welcome to the second trimester! __In this tri__mester pregnancy often brings a renewed sense of well-being. The worst of the nausea has usually passed, and your baby isn't big enough to crowd your abdominal organs and make you uncomfortable. _

_During the second trimester, you may feel less tired and more up to the challenge of preparing a home for your baby. Strike while the iron is hot! Check into childbirth classes. Find a health care provider for your baby. Read about breast-feeding. If you plan to continue working after the baby is born, get familiar with your employer's maternity leave policy and investigate child care options. In some areas, you can't start too soon looking for child care. _

_While you're adjusting to the changes in your body, fetal development takes on new meaning. Two months ago, your baby was simply a cluster of cells. Now he or she has functioning organs, nerves and muscles. You may be amazed by how much your baby changes from week to week. _

"What are you doing?" Troy came in and placed the heated Ramen noodles down on the nightstand, then sat next to her on the bed to look at the book.

They sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Troy touched her arm.

"Can we talk about this now?", he asked gently.

Sharpay nodded.

"How are you feeling?"

"Scared."

"Does that mean...", he paused. "You're … going … to …" He looked up at her, his eyes filled with hope. "... have this baby?"

"Of course I'm going to have this baby. It's a baby. There's a baby growing inside of me for God's sake and I've seen it. Troy..." She looked at him and caught her breath as the full realization hit her in the face. "We're going to have a baby."

"I know", he laughed, putting his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug so tight it made her lose her breath. "Isn't it amazing?"

Troy stayed for dinner. Since Sharpay didn't have his skills in the kitchen, they ordered in Thai food. They talked about their child, about their values, about children of friends and what we liked and disliked about their upbringing, how they would do things differently with their own child.

They talked for hours, but what they didn't talk about was logistics. How did two people jointly raise a child when they weren't together? It was really no big deal though. With the divorce rates in this country, it's normal for children to grow up in one parent families and at least their child won't be subjected to any bitterness between its parents because they were never together in the first place. Well … only that one time.

"The only thing is...", she said when their minds came back from daydreaming, "How are we supposed to tell everyone? My boss is psychotic about her employees becoming pregnant. She even offered to pick up the insurance co-pay on our birth control prescriptions."

"So don't tell anyone", Troy suggested, lightly.

"Oh, be serious. You think they won't notice?"

He shrugged, "You don't have to tell anyone yet. You're not showing and we can work out the best way to tell people in a few weeks."

"So... you're okay with people knowing it's your baby? You are ... somewhat, famous, you know."

"Are you kidding? I want the whole God-damned world to know it's my baby, especially when everyone knew Gabriella and I were trying and assumed it was my fault when nothing happened. I don't want just to tell them; I want to start a reality TV show about it."

"Good idea", she mused, "but not great. I don't think there'd be enough interest for an entire series. How about a thirty second spot to air during the Superbowl? That's much more low-key."

He smiled, but his attention was elsewhere and she knew what he was thinking.

"Troy?", she whispered. "What's the matter? It's Gabriella, isn't it?"

He smiled sadly. "I've been so excited I haven't even thought about her in all this. And I suppose if it isn't me, it's got to be her. How in the world is she going to take this?"

"Troy, if no one else is going to know for a while, then Gabriella doesn't need to know either. But when we do start telling people, make sure you tell her first. I can't imagine anything worse than hearing it from someone else."

"I know", he said, nodding. "I know I'll have to tell her myself."

They talked for a little longer before Troy left. When they said goodnight and Sharpay climbed into bed, completely exhausted, she looked at the clock and saw it was 9:22.

"So much for feeling less tired in the second trimester", she grumbled as her head hit the pillow.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Ryan! Pick up the phone!", Sharpay was practically shouting into her cellphone as she stood in front of Ryan's door in Greenwich Village. "Come on Ryan, I'm right outside your door."

She had been trying to call him all day with the good news about her decision to keep the baby. It was Saturday morning and she knew her brother well enough to know that he never left his apartment or his bed, for that matter, before noon on the weekends. Sharpay had finally given up and shlepped over to his place armed with ammunition to which he had no defense: a sonogram picture and a DVD with ten minutes of fuzzy, green imagery.

"Open the door, Ryan", she shouted and started banging on the door.

Finally, she heard the deadbolts turn (Ryan had three of them) and the security chain rattle (he had two of those) and the knob began to rotate. Quickly, she pulled out the grainy photo and held it out in front of her like an elementary school crossing guard trying to stop traffic. She vaguely registered that Ryan was wearing his white bathrobe and his signature fuzzy house slippers and smiled when she heard him gasp in surprise at the photo shoved into his face.

Sharpay quickly joined him in gasping when she lowered her hand and immediately dropped the photo as realized that it wasn't Ryan standing in front of her, but her assistant, Donny. It was Donny opening Ryan's door on a Saturday morning and Donny wearing Ryan's fuzzy house slippers and Donny wearing Ryan's white bathrobe with what appeared to be nothing on underneath.

"I think I'm going to be sick", they both moaned simultaneously.

Followed shortly by,

"You're pregnant?"

And...

"You're sleeping with my brother?"

And more simultaneous shouts of, "You can't tell anyone!"

Just then, Ryan wandered into the room, wearing only a towel around his waist and rubbing his wet hair with another. "Sharpay, what are you doing here?"

She instantly shot back, "When did start sleeping with my assistant?"

Donny, in the meantime, had retrieved the dropped photo and was studying it intently.

"I tried to tell you a couple of weeks ago", Ryan started to explain as he casually walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Remember when I wanted to go to the museum and I told you I had some news?"

Sharpay looked completely blank. "No, I don't remember any of that."

"It's the pregnancy", Ryan explained with authority. "Your body is producing extra blood volume for the baby and it effects your short term memory."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock", she replied sarcastically.

"That's Dr. Spock", Donny supplied. "Mister Spock is a Vulcan from Star Trek. Doctor Spock was the famous pediatrician. Although, I don't think either one of them is relevant in this particular case."

The twins gave him identical looks of incredulity.

"And I think you dropped this", Donny said to Sharpay as he handed her back the photograph.

"Give me that." She angrily grabbed it out of his hand, but then calmed instantly when she glanced at the picture and remembered why she was here in the first place. "I-I actually brought this over for you to see, Ry." She smiled and passed him the picture.

"Oh my." Ryan slumped down onto the sofa while looking at the first picture of his niece or nephew. There was nothing else to say. Ryan knew that if she was here with this, she was definitely keeping the baby.

Sharpay held up the DVD, smiling as she did so. "There's video too."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Donny kept angling his head from left to right, hoping that this would make the image become clearer. It didn't help.

The men were dressed now and Donny had just handed Sharpay a glass of iced tea. Some things didn't change, even on weekends. They were now watching the ten minutes of green video for the fourth time and Ryan looked like he was going to burst with pride.

"So when's your first OB appointment? You should have had the first one at 12 weeks, you know."

"I know, Ryan. It's next week."

"You want me to come with you?"

Sharpay looked away and replied quietly, "Troy's going to go with me."

"Oh... well, sure. That makes sense." He sounded hurt, but Sharpay didn't know what she could say to ease his hurt feelings.

Donny reached over and lightly touched Ryan's arm and Sharpay smiled at her assistant, grateful for his support and starting to see him in a new light.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Sharpay was a woman obsessed. She was also a woman who was slowly losing her mind. She had gone from pretending the baby didn't exist to longing for her belly to show, longing for the ability to tell people, _"No I'm not just fat, I'm actually pregnant."_

She was still being careful at work, careful to wear big, baggy clothes to disguise her ever-growing stomach. She had even gone to such lengths as to suggest to certain designers that they bring back empire waists. If she'd been pregnant back in the early 2000's, for instance, no one would have noticed anything because of all the baby-doll tops. One designer laughed at her suggestion and told her those tops were hideous because they made everyone look pregnant. Sharpay quickly dropped the subject.

However, outside work, she was so desperate to talk about it that she had started accosting strangers in order to share her good news.

"_Excuse me, do you have this sweater in a large, because I'm nearly four months pregnant and nothing's going to be fitting me soon?"_

"_Hello, this is Sharpay Evans in apartment 11G and the heat isn't working correctly and I'm four months pregnant and for some reason I'm getting really cold, so do you think you could come take a look at it?"_

"_I'll have the 12 ounce prime rib with baked potato, butter, sour cream and a small container of bleu cheese dressing for the potato. I know it sounds strange, but I'm four and half months pregnant and I'm desperately craving blue cheese. It could be worse, you know. At least I'm not craving anything weird like dirt. Do you have any kids yourself?"_

_"__You look like you're ready to pop? How many weeks are you? Thirty-six? You poor thing. Is this your first? I'm only 22 weeks and I'm completely wiped out so I can't imagine how you must be feeling."_

At four and a half months, she could no longer resist the urge to shop for maternity clothes and so off she went to Buy Buy Baby with Ryan and Donny tagging along with her. They seemed to be permanently attached now and unfortunately, due to Ryan's influence, Donny coddled her almost as much as her brother. However, it was like he was a member of the family now and as such was sworn to secrecy concerning the baby.

They walked in, looked around, and Sharpay wondered why everyone in there was so skinny that the salespeople had to give them cushions to shove up under their clothes to simulate a belly.

"Are any of these women actually pregnant?", Donny whispered to her, echoing her thoughts precisely.

Ryan answered the question while flipping through a catalog of outrageously expensive nursery furniture. "Oh yes. A lot of them like to come in very early on. Wearing maternity clothes is often the very first sign of pregnancy and they can't wait to show it off."

Sharpay, who by this time had simply learned to yield to Ryan's superior knowledge of all things maternal, turned and saw exactly what he meant when a woman with model proportions idly flicked through the racks, wearing an empire waisted smock which clearly had more space underneath it than the Astrodrome.

"Would you like to try anything on?", a salesperson, who had materialize out of nowhere, asked.

Sharpay didn't answer. She was busy trying not to faint when the woman she'd been watching, the one with the model-like figure, turned and looked directly at her.

"Gisele?", Donny gasped, once again, echoing Sharpay's thoughts exactly.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Why didn't tell me you were pregnant?", Sharpay asked in a slightly hurt tone while the four of them, she, Gisele, Ryan and Donny sat around a small table at a nearby Starbucks fifteen minutes later.

"Well, I'd just found out … you know, when I found out about your pregnancy and under the circumstances I didn't think it would have been appropriate to tell you then."

Sharpay remembered that conversation very well. Gisele had walked in on her when she was calling the abortion clinic to make an appointment. Then, Gisele had proceeded to offer her support and had even told her about her own experience with abortion.

"So how far along are you?", Ryan asked.

Donny watched on silently at he slurped his green tea Frappacino, wondering how all of this was going to eventually play out at work. In some ways his life was better than a TV soap opera.

"16 weeks", Gisele told them brightly as she patted her non-existent bulge. "It happened during the honeymoon and I'll admit it was a bit of a surprise."

"Not as much as Sharpay's, I'll bet", Donny blurted out. His eyes grew immediately wide with fear and he braced himself for a blow, whether it would be physical or verbal, he couldn't be sure about yet.

Sharpay leaned in close and whispered into his ear, so only Donny could hear. "You see, Donny, the best thing about revenge is you never know when it's coming." Then, she sat back and rejoined the conversation where Ryan was regaling Gisele with his extensive intelligence concerning pregnancy.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Everyone she revealed her pregnancy to was so kind which made it really weird not to be able to reveal it at work where everyone treated her the same as they always did. At work she was still the same ole Sharpay Evans … only fatter … and more forgetful. She couldn't tell which was worrying her more, the fact that her memory was gone or that her waist had disappeared. Of course, no one would tell her, to her face, that she'd pull on weight and she didn't think anyone had guessed the truth yet, but she was definitely aware when walking through a crowded restaurant at lunchtime she didn't get anything like the admiring glances she once received.

"Do you swear I don't look enormous?", she whispered to Donny, as one of the few heterosexual male hairstylists walked by them. He looked at her and smiled, all hint of flirtation gone. They were shooting a minor television commercial with one of Sharpay's other clients. She wanted Donny to tell her that she didn't look fat, she looked pregnant. She wanted him to validate her and in turn, give her permission to tell everyone.

"I swear you just look voluptuous and gorgeous and if I were straight I'd be all over you."

Ignoring that absurd testimonial, Sharpay asked, "So you can't see my bump?" She stuck her stomach out.

"That's no baby; that's just a triple Whopper and a large onion ring." He laughed.

She laughed too, even though it wasn't the right answer and decided she really needed to start working on that revenge thing … if she could only remember why she needed revenge on him.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

It was Sunday; Troy and Sharpay spent Sundays together now and occasionally got together during the week as well, but Sundays were a regular routine. She would come over to his place; he'd cook a delicious meal and she'd lay around all day doing absolutely nothing while he ran around like a mother hen, making sure that the mother of his child was happy.

It was complete bliss.

"Do you want a Twix bar?", he asked midway through the afternoon.

"Mmmm", she groaned, luxuriously from the couch.

"Right." He pulled on his coat and started to head toward the door. "Anything else you need?"

"I wouldn't mind some Kung Pao chicken?"

"You're still hungry after the roast beef?", he asked.

"Not hungry, just a little … I don't know..."

"I could stop by the Chinese restaurant on the corner", he offered.

"Great, thanks."

She had already switched her focus back to the television. They were watching Singing in the Rain and luckily she and Troy shared a love of old Hollywood musicals: An American in Paris, Hello, Dolly!, Daddy Long Legs. Many times they'd lost themselves in an MGM extravaganza and ended up dancing around his apartment, emulating Fred, Ginger, or Gene, only to collapse exhausted and giggling onto his sofa.

The last couple of weeks she had stayed the night … in the guest bedroom, of course. It was hidden behind the basketball court and was actually, itself, the size of a small apartment, complete with its own private bathroom.

It was the most extraordinary thing. Aside from the fact that she was carrying his child, it was hard to believe they had ever had sex. In fact even though she was carrying his child, there were times when she thought that perhaps it was an immaculate conception and that she simply dreamed that whole night. She even had to ask Gisele, just to be on the safe side, "Was I actually there?"

Troy had become her best friend. He was the first person she turned to when she wanted to share any news or have a night out or just a laugh. He was always there for her, always steady, reliable, secure. He made her feel safe and comforted and loved … in a platonic sense. Because he was the last person in the world she would find herself attracted to.

She knew she was attracted to him that night. She had a vague memory of the sex being fantastic, but she still can't quit believe that was Troy. Troy... the same Troy who now sat opposite her, draining a can of Coke and emitting indecently loud burps every few seconds.

"You're disgusting."

"God, I know." He made a face. "Sportcasters are such pigs, aren't they?"

"Is that what you call yourself? And not all sportcasters, just you."

Troy burped particularly loudly and grinned. "You could have chosen any man to be the father of your baby, but you chose me."

"Trust me", Sharpay said as she handed a piece of chicken down to Boi. The little dog loved spicy Chinese food. "If I had to make my choice all over again, it would be a very different story."

But, of course, it wouldn't be, because while she wasn't attracted to him in the slightest, he had become, other than Ryan, her most favorite person in the whole world. And she could not think of a better person to be raising her child with. She loved the idea that her child would be half hers and half Troy's. To be honest, she couldn't think of a better combination … other than her and Matt Damon, of course. And that clearly wasn't going to happen.

"You know what you are?", she asked later that afternoon as Troy sat on the floor, tinkering with some old lamp he was trying to fix and trying to fend off Boi who was always under foot. Sometimes she got the feeling he didn't really like her dog. "You're the brother I never had."

"What about Ryan?"

"Oh... Ryan's the sister I never had", she deadpanned.

Troy made a face. "I'm like a brother to you? Now that really is sick … disgusting. You're accusing me of incest."

"Don't be ridiculous. I mean just in terms of us, our relationship, I don't think I've ever felt so comfortable with anyone other than my family. That's what I meant. You know you're my best friend."

She didn't know what had come over her because spontaneous outbursts of affection were simply not her style, but she didn't think she ever really knew how important it was to have someone before. And she didn't mean another half. She just meant someone to share things with, someone like a best friend, someone like Troy.

Troy stopped tinkering and smiled at her. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Shiiit", she mumbled, opening Vanity Fair and pretending to be immediately engrossed in the latest fashion news. The embarrassment of having been so open started to hit her. "I didn't mean it", she said petulantly.

"Yes, you did and thank you. And just for the record, I feel exactly the same way about you."

"I'm the brother you never had?" She raised her eyebrow wryly.

"Noooo... you're the pain-in-the-ass little sister I never wanted. Ouch!!!"

She hit him over the head with the rolled up magazine. He sat back and looked at her thoughtfully.

"Seriously, Sharpay... you've really changed since high school … since you've become pregnant even."

She gave an unladylike snort. "Because you knew me so well before..."

"I didn't have to. I only had to look at you to see how hard you were. You're much softer, more vulnerable. If you push me, I might say you're a much nicer person."

She made a face and turned back to the magazine. "I'm not sure that's such a good thing. No one's afraid of me at work anymore." Although the fact that she didn't seem to wield the same power at work bothered her, secretly she loved what Troy had just said. She loved the way he made her feel. Secretly, she was very, very pleased.

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

If you're paying attention when she was going through that whole "I'm almost 4 months along...", "I'm 22 weeks...", that's just my incredibly clever way of moving the timeline along (LOL). I actually got from another book.

Okay, so I was going to change the ultrasound appointment to have it be a 3D scan like troypazash did in her story, 9 Months. But when I looked it up I found out that they don't usually do those until 24 weeks, so I left it with the old style ultrasound.

I have to add in some comments from the peanut gallery … my sweet, sexy nerd whom I haven't written about lately. He's complaining that I've completely emasculated Troy or as he put it … "cut off his gonads, turned him into a half-girl who pees sitting down, but still has to shave." That's an exact quote, btw.

Oh, and don't worry too much about Sharpay and the whole brotherly love thing, that'll change in time.


	11. The Secret's Out

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 11: The Secret's Out**

Disclaimer: See Chapter

Please read the Author Note at the end. It's important. Thanks, j.

Sharpay walked into the office with a huge smile on her face. People seemed to be coming out of the woodwork to congratulate her and she couldn't be more thrilled. It was six months to the day. Six months ago Doreen had tasked her with putting Gisele on the cover of a major magazine and she'd met that deadline … with no time to spare. Sharpay was understandably proud of herself. Despite all the personal turmoil in her life, her career had not suffered in the slightest.

Donny was hunched over a table with some co-workers when he saw her walk in. His smile matched hers. "You did it, Sharpay! This cover is outstanding; more than anyone could hope for."

Her co-workers were so impressed that they stood up and actually started applauding in appreciation. Amy, the newest wannabe agent in the office, ran up to her with pen and magazine in hand. "Oh, Ms. Evans, could you sign my copy, please?"

Sharpay smiled indulgently and marveled at how she never imagined she would ever be signing her autograph again after she gave up her dreams of the stage. She took the magazine from the younger woman and pulling out her own signature pink pen, scrawled her name across the magazine cover, being careful to not write over Gisele's picture. It was one of the best Cosmo covers Sharpay had ever seen. The cover was artfully done with Gisele's naked body wrapped seductively in a shear green fabric which beautifully accented her red hair. She was turned slightly to the side which accentuated her small four and a half month baby bulge. The eye catching title enticed the reader to look inside to find out … "How Orgasms during Pregnancy are the Most Intense of My Life, according to Supermodel Gisele Snow".

Sharpay suddenly looked worried. How would Doreen react to Gisele's pregnancy? She still hadn't announced her own and at six months it was getting pretty difficult to hide.

"Do you think Doreen will be upset when she finds out about the pregnancy?", she asked Donny when people had started to slowly return to their desks.

Louise, Doreen's secretary, who had just entered the office couldn't help but comment on the question.

"Oh thank God... you're finally admitting you're pregnancy so we can stop walking around like we're on egg shells."

Sharpay whirled around in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Well...", the older woman looked up from her Cosmo magazine. "You've been shouting at people and bursting into tears for no apparent reason and half the time you walk around looking like you're in a dream world. Plus, you're eating like a pig, but the only place you're putting on weight is your stomach", she grinned and shrugged. "You'd have to be a complete idiot not to realize it."

"You think Doreen suspects anything?", Sharpay asked nervously.

"Doreen Remington is many things, but idiot is not one of them."

Just then, Louise's computer beeped loudly and she quickly reached over and silenced the noise with a click on the keyboard. "Speak of the devil... she's just entered the building."

Sharpay stared at her in amazement; there must be some sort of underground network in this office that she had no knowledge of. Louise would probably be broadcasting their conversation as soon as she left … let's just hope it was the intranet and not the world wide web. She looked up at the double glass doors just as Doreen came sweeping through with a wadded up magazine tightly gripped in her hand.

"Sharpay! What's the meaning of this?" Doreen was holding a crinkled up copy of Cosmo in her hand and waving it around for all to see. "My office. Now!"

"Yes, ma'am." Sharpay meekly followed her into the bosses' sanctuary. These meetings never went well. The last time she'd fainted dead away.

The older woman silently indicated for Sharpay to sit down and started pacing nervously around the room. Stopping suddenly, she bore down on Sharpay. "You've obviously known about this pregnancy for some time." Sharapy nodded. "But you didn't bother to tell me."

"Well, I didn't feel it was my place, Doreen."

"Not your place? You're her manager and I'm your employer. Plus, you know how I feel about pregnancy in my company."

"Yes, ma'am. I understand that, but have you looked at the magazine? It's a wonderful cover --- tastefully done and absolutely beautiful. Plus, it is a _cover_ just as you instructed six months ago."

Doreen's face became red in her ill-disguised anger. "We are a modeling agency, Sharpay, in case you've forgotten. Our models help sell products by showcasing them and charming the average consumer into purchasing them in a fleeting hope that they might achieve a fraction of the beauty our girls possess." She took a deep breath before continuing. "What, exactly, is Gisele selling with this cover? Gauzy fabric? Our models are to display the latest haute couture on the covers of Elle, Vanity Fair and Vogue … not to discuss their orgasms to soccer moms while they're waiting in check out lanes at their local grocery store!"

Sharpay hadn't cried in weeks and she wasn't about to let this woman ruin her most excellent day. However, before she could defend herself, Donny came bursting through the door with fire in his eyes like she'd never seen before.

"How dare you!", Donny shouted to an obviously surprised Doreen. "You can't talk to her like that! She's done more for this company than any other agent you have. And Gisele, her discovery, by the way, is the most sought after model you have." He paused to catch his breath and seemed to realize what he'd just said and to whom he'd just said it. His eyes grew wide in fear and the old Donny seemed to reassert itself. "Ooh, M-mrs. R-Remington. I'm soooo sorry. Did you need me to run out and get you a Starbucks?"

"Get. Out." Doreen was struggling to contain her anger.

"Yes, ma'am. And I'll be right back with your Caramel Machiatto."

"You don't understand, Donald. You aren't to come back … ever. Clear out your desk. You're fired." Her voice was now eerily calm.

Now it was Sharpay's turn to comfort him. She stood up quickly and faced her boss. "Doreen, please, be reasonable. He didn't mean anything by it. Donny was only trying to defend me. He's very protective that way."

"Sharpay... would you like to join him in the unemployment line?"

"Oh no, please don't do that, Mrs. Remington. Sharpay can't afford to lose her job, what with the baby coming and all."

Both Sharpay and Doreen turned to look at him and Donny knew in that instant that he probably would not be leaving this room alive.

Doreen's eyes left Donny and shot immediately to Sharpay's abdomen which was obviously protruding more than a triple Whopper and onion ring could account for. "When did … that … happen?" She pointed an accusing finger at her baby bump which Sharpay instinctively reached to cover with her hand.

Sharpay swallowed hard and only by sheer force of will did she not stroke her stomach in an effort to sooth the tumbling child within. Nor did she remove it though; it was too late for that. "I-I'm six months along."

"Damn!", Doreen moaned and she slumped down into a chair, all the fight draining out of her. She looked over at Donny as if she was surprised to see him still standing there. "Why are you still here? Go get my Caramel Machiatto and make it a Venti."

Donny, realizing that he wasn't actually fired anymore and he would now be allowed to leave the room while he was still breathing, replied enthusiastically, "Yes, ma'am!", as he scurried out the door.

Once the two women were alone, Doreen motioned, once again, for Sharpay to have a seat. "Alright, Sharpay, I want you to know that I really like you, but now there are two major questions. The first is ... what are you going to do?"

"You mean am I staying?" She nodded. "Doreen, I love this job. I love everything about my career. I never wanted to get pregnant; I never wanted to have a baby, but now that I am I think it's going to be fine. I'm not mother material, though. The last thing on earth I want is to leave my job." Doreen nodded approvingly and Sharpay continued, "I have a fantastic support system, but, of course, I'll need to take some maternity leave, but that's it. You have my word that I'll be back here to pick up exactly where I left off."

"Temper tantrums and tears?", she asked coldly.

Sharpay chuckled weakly. "No, that's just hormonal hell. You'll have the old Sharpay back after the baby."

"But that still leaves the question of what do I do while you're away for those six weeks. That's all you get, you know, … six … weeks."

"I know; I checked the policy a while back. And to answer your question, you've got Donny."

"Donny? That little golfer?"

"He's much more than that and he deserves a chance to prove himself."

"Well, I'll think about it. Maybe I'll talk to him when he comes back with my drink", she mused, mostly to herself.

"Oh, not yet, Doreen. I think he needs to suffer a few more days for spilling the beans on me."

"Honey, those beans look about ready to pop. But now, for that second question." Sharpay braced herself for what she knew was coming. "I've noticed Troy Bolton, the hottie from ESPN, hanging around here a lot lately. Sooo, who's the father?"

"Could I tell you to efff off and mind your own business?"

"No, I'd fire you."

"Okay, Troy Bolton's the father."

"Wow, that's incredible", she sounded like a gossipy teenager reading the trashy tabloid. "I wouldn't have thought he would be your type."

She didn't bother to tell her that he wasn't her type, but that they'd come to an arrangement. That really wasn't any of her business. It was just too complicated to explain and it was just easier for people to assume that they were together for now. They could always tell people they'd split up later.

"Why wouldn't he be my type?", she asked instead.

"You don't exactly travel in the same circles, do you?"

"Well, he's the most stable person I've ever met. He gives me a security that I've never had before and I know exactly where I stand with him. He has integrity. He phones exactly when he says he will and does exactly what he says he's going to do. There are no games and I've never been happier in my life."

Doreen looked as shocked as Sharpay felt.

Always one to have the last word, Doreen concluded with, "We'll see what happens with Gisele and this cover. Just be aware, I'll be watching you both very closely."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"I know I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist."

Darby Evans was trying to look apologetic as she heaved a huge plastic bag into Sharpay's living room, but she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. Things had definitely changed in her attitude towards her first grandchild. Partial credit for this change, Sharpay knew, had to be given to Ryan. In December, the twins took their annual Christmas trip to Albuquerque; family traditions were very important to their mother. Yes, the three of them, Sharpay, Ryan _and Donny_ arrived at the Evans mansion, arms full of presents and hearts full of hope. After Ryan introduced his 'soul mate' to his parents, Sharpay's announcement about her baby wasn't much of a shock and it gave her mother something to focus on besides Ryan's burgeoning romance with Donny. Although the three of them, Ryan, Donny and Darby did enjoy daily Tai Chi classes together. Darby had moved on from yoga.

"Mother..." Sharpay tried to sound stern, but her heart wasn't in it.

Sharpay had been dying to buy things for the baby, but Troy wouldn't let her. He suddenly decided he was superstitious and stated firmly that neither of them could buy anything for the baby or the nursery until she was in her eighth month. It was such a struggle to walk past Baby Gap and their gorgeous tiny sleepers, such a struggle not to let her finger slip when her mouse pointer was poised on the "Add to Cart" button while she was browsing through the baby furniture section on . So when Darby pulled out a tiny little gauzy pale yellow dress with matching yellow booties, she swooned with excitement. And when she pulled out a pink and white striped sleeper, Sharpay almost passed out with joy.

"Aren't they gorgeous?", Darby exclaimed with delight. "Aren't they the most beautiful things you've ever seen?"

"They're so tiny", Sharpay whispered, rubbing her stomach as the baby protested by delivering a swift kick under her ribs.

"Is she kicking?" Darby stopped stock still as Sharpay continued to rub her stomach, trying to calm the baby. It wasn't painful, but the shock always took her breath away.

"It's not necessarily a she, you know." Although deep inside, she was absolutely convinced it was a girl. "And yes ... she's kicking."

"Can I feel?", Darby asked in awe and she moved over to sit next to her daughter, placing her hand on Sharpay's stomach. "Awww", she gasped as she felt the baby kick.

They both started smiling broadly.

"Don't cry", Sharpay warned as tears started to fill Darby's eyes.

"I can't help it." She laughed as the tears starting flowing down her cheeks. "It's just so amazing."

"The amazing thing is that you felt anything at all. Every time Troy's around and the baby starts kicking, as soon as he puts his hand on my stomach, baby stops." Sharpay slumped into the sofa, pouting a little.

"How _is_ Troy?", Darby asked fondly, speaking of him as if he was her favorite son-in-law even though she hasn't seen him since high school graduation.

It was strange that they hadn't seen each other again, but Sharpay didn't think it was really all that important. He wasn't her boyfriend and she wasn't looking for her mother's approval. And besides, Darby was only in town for a short visit and Sharpay really wanted to keep her to herself. Darby Evans, first lady of Lava Springs, routinely took shopping trips to New York City to catch the latest seasonal fashions and this trip was to prepare her spring wardrobe … and indulge her grandchild-to-be with some essential purchases.

"He's fine."

"You're seeing a lot of him, aren't you? Are you... I mean, have you... well, you know..." She gave her daughter a knowing look.

"Mom, I've told you; it's not like that."

"But you make him sound so wonderful and your eyes light up when you talk about him."

"You know what? If I were the type to settle down, Troy would be everything I'd look for. If I wanted a partner, a husband, Troy is exactly the man I'd choose, but you know me. You know I'm allergic to commitment. I don't want a husband; I want a career."

"The only thing I know is that you're beginning to sound like a broken record."

"What?", she barked.

"I'm sorry, Sharpay, it's just that you've been saying that forever even though your life has drastically changed. I could understand you saying that if you were still living the single girl's life with no responsibilities, but Sharpay... you're having a baby. Your life will never be the same again and your priorities will have to change."

"Mother, a child doesn't have to change things. I'm going back to work after six weeks and Troy and I will raise this baby together. We'll hire a nanny; we're already starting the interviews now. It's not like your day, Mother, everyone does it now. It's far more normal for mothers to work than to stay at home. My life isn't going to change as much as you think."

Darby didn't say anything for a while, just smoothed out the tiny outfits. "Okay", she said finally which actually meant _you just wait_.

"Okay", Sharpay echoed. "So don't keep asking me about Troy in the hope that we're going to get together and live happily ever after because I'm very happy on my own and I don't want to settle down. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay!"

Sharpay made Darby a cup of tea as a peace offering because she didn't want to have a fight since she saw her so rarely and she really did love her so much.

"Show me what else you bought", Sharpay chattered excitedly and she dragged the bag over to her mother as Darby's face started to brighten. She pulled out the first thing she found and exclaimed, "Oh, these are the smallest socks I've ever seen."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The two Evans women continued to enjoy their time together and Sharpay took off work on Friday so they could spend a lazy day together. It was close to dinnertime and they were trying to decide what to do. Darby wanted to go out, but Sharpay was perfectly happy lying about the house in her pajamas, no makeup and her hair pulled straight back in a high pony tail.

Suddenly, the door buzzer rang and Darby jumped up to check the intercom which connected Sharpay to the lobby. She was back in seconds.

"Quick! Quick!", Darby hissed while pulling open her purse and digging out her lipstick. "Go put on some makeup on. Do your hair."

"What? What are you talking about? Who on earth is it?"

"It's Troy!", she said with delight and anticipation. "Come on", she whispered. "You don't want him to see you like that."

Troy knocked on the door. Darby shot her a look of alarm as Sharpay slid over to the door wearing her fluffy Disney Princesses slippers and Sharpay grinned at her because Troy had seen her in pretty much every state imaginable and he really didn't care.

"It's only Troy", she said, grinning evilly at Darby and leaning up and kissing Troy on the cheek. "What a wonderful surprise", she said with a raise brow. "Could it be a coincidence that I mentioned that Mother had flown over for the weekend?"

"Ah, funny you should say that. But I was beginning to think you were keeping me away from your mother for some reason." He walked confidently up to Darby. "Hi, Mrs. Evans, it's been forever since we've seen each other. And can I say that you look even younger than you did on the golf course back at Lava Springs?"

Darby swooned, Sharpay made a gagging sound and they all went out for pizza.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"He's wonderful!", Darby exclaimed as she reapplied her lipstick in the bathroom of the corner pizzeria. Darby Evans always loved sampling the local cuisine, no matter where she was, so when she visited New York City, she truly enjoyed a slice of their unique thin crust New York pizza and at the most authentic locale, in this case, Joe's Pizzeria.

Sharpay was secretly thrilled that Troy and her mother hit it off so well. She snatched the lipstick out of her mother's hand when she was done and gave her own lips a quick swipe.

"Changed your mind, have you?" Darby gave her daughter a knowing smile, dug out a mascara from her purse and passed it over.

"There's no harm in trying to make a bit of an effort", she replied defensively. "Come on, Troy will think we fell in the toilet."

"But he's such a good man", Darby sighed as they walked out of the ladies room. "He's so warm and solid and he obviously adores you."

"And I adore him", she said sternly, trending her way through the tables which wasn't easy, given her belly. "And we're best friends and that's it, okay?

Darby just smiled to herself.

"Mother? Okay?"

"The lady", she whispered under her breath as they approached the table and she pulled her chair out. She tilted her head and whispered just loudly enough for Sharpay to hear, which was her intention, "...doeth protest too much, me thinks." She flashed a smile at Troy, who didn't hear a thing or if he did, he didn't know what she was talking about. Darby then picked up a menu. "Dessert, anyone?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The three of them walked back to Sharpay's apartment after dinner and as Sharpay put her key in the lock, her heart did a huge flip flop. She turned to Darby in alarm, feeling the color drain from her face.

"I locked the door, didn't I? I could have sworn I locked the door."

Troy pushed her gently aside and took her key. "You two stay here. Let me just check that everything's okay." He pushed open the door and went inside as Sharpay and Darby huddled together, terrified that she'd been robbed.

Several minutes later, Troy opened the door with a frown on his face. "I think you'd better come in", he said.

As they followed him into the living room, Sharpay's heart was thumping so hard against her chest she thought she might be sick. She knew what to expect … overturned chairs, emptied out drawers, her belongings strewn all over the floor. An inventory of her things flashed through her mind and she prayed they didn't find the earrings her parents gave her for her twenty-first birthday. They were her first Tiffany diamonds … and there was the sentimental value too, of course. But her worst fear of all was for Boi. Criminals in books and movies were always doing evil things to little dogs. Poor, Boi.

They walked into the living room and she stopped with a gasp. Sitting on the sofa was a middle aged woman whom Sharpay had never seen before. Troy took it upon himself to introduce everyone.

"Sharpay, this is Evelyn Davenport." Sharpay gave him a blank look. "She's the great-niece of Earnest Davenport, the owner of this apartment." The woman nodded in agreement. "Her uncle recently passed away."

"Oh, I'm so sorry", offered Darby in sympathy.

Sharpay looked puzzled. "So, why are you in my apartment?"

Evelyn stood slowly. "It's not your apartment anymore, Miss Evans. My uncle left the apartment to me and I'll be taking up residence immediately."

"But... you can't just kick me out! I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Sharpay", Troy said gently, "These papers say she can do just that. It seems that you were sub-letting this apartment which is actually illegal, by the way."

When Sharpay had found this apartment four years ago, she had thought it was a dream come true. The location was fantastic; the rent was reasonable; and best yet, it was available. Apartments within the city were notoriously difficult to find. In fact, at the time Sharpay was looking, she actually saw an offer on Craig's List to share an apartment with a guy in exchange for certain, more than roommate, benefits. She didn't answer that ad. The owner of this apartment, Earnest Davenport, she now remembered his name, was an elderly man who had been living in Florida for the past twenty years. However, he didn't want to give up his rent-controlled apartment; those only came around once in a lifetime. Therefore, he started subleasing it … which as Troy stated, was completely illegal. And now, dear old Earnest, was dead.

"And I, as the sole beneficiary of my uncle, am claiming what's mine", Evelyn Davenport stated with authority.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me. Can't you see I'm pregnant, for God's sake?" The hormones were threatening to hit and Sharpay could feel the hot sting behind her eyes that meant tears were not far behind.

Troy's attention had wandered over to the balcony and he walked over and opened the door a crack, letting Boi scoot through the small opening. It was freezing outside. Darby hurried over to scoop up the little dog while giving that Davenport woman an evil look.

Everyone turned when they heard a short knock, followed by the door swinging open. A New York City uniformed police officer walked in with a large sheath of papers in his hands.

"Oh, those must be the eviction papers", Evelyn spoke brightly.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Why? Why should I be the one who has to leave?" Sharpay's lip stuck out petulantly.

Troy, Sharpay, Darby and Boi were sequestered in Sharpay's bedroom, having been given a few minutes to get her things together.

"Because it's her apartment and even if you sit here and try to fight it out, you're not going to win. Sharpay", Troy said more gently, "My grandpa always said to pick your battles wisely; you can't fight them just for the sake of fighting. It's too much hard work and this is one that isn't worth fighting."

"I agree", Darby said. Sharpay had forgotten she was even there.

"So where am I supposed to go?" Now the tears really did start to roll. Sharpay was sitting on her bed and slumped forward with her legs spread apart --- the only way she could slump forward these days. Troy and Darby both rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. "I'm six months pregnant", she sobbed, "and this is my home and now I have to find another apartment and it will take weeks and I just can't deal with this right now. I can't, fucking, deal with this!" She was shouting at the end.

"Sharpay", Troy said, eventually, "I have a spare bedroom and it's ridiculous that we're living together anyway, with the baby coming. I wanted to ask you before, but I didn't want you to get the wrong idea and I didn't know how you'd react." Her tears started to dry up. "Sharpay", he continued, "you know my place as well as I do and I know you're comfortable there. It makes sense for you to move in. What do you think?"

Both Troy and Darby were watching her expectantly.

Of course it made sense; it made perfect sense. Except she would be giving up her independence and freedom. Maybe, Troy would expect her to start cooking for him or scrubbing his bathtub. It was already complicated. She was pregnant by the man who'd become her best friend and if she were a different person, she probably would have fallen in love with him. But she's not and she hasn't, but maybe that's what he'll expect if she moved in with him. Maybe, he would come sneaking into the spare room at night.

It probably wasn't a good idea, but she did love it there and she was comfortable. Actually, she probably felt more at home there than here, but that really wasn't the point. Sharpay sighed, exhausted at the circles in which her mind was running.

"Look", Troy said, "What if it's only temporary, what if you just spend a couple of weeks at my place while you look for something else, how does that sound?"

That sounded perfect. "Okay", Sharpay said aloud. She looked over at Darby who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "This doesn't mean anything", she hissed as Troy disappeared into the kitchen to look for bags to put her stuff in. "We're just friends."

"I know", her mother whispered back, "but you have to admit he's pretty damn hot."

Tell her something she didn't know.

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

First of all, I have to credit the movie, The Proposal, a majorly wonderful chickflick, with a idea of an underground inter-office network which keeps tabs on the location of the boss.

Big stuff in this chapter! The secret's out: both Sharpay's and Gisele's and most exciting of all, Sharpay is moving in with Troy!!!! * clears throat * But they're just friends.

Now for a serious question. Here's the deal: in the summer, I have loads of time to write because I don't have a life. Unfortunately, people who have lives, apparently, have no time to read. The readership for this story has really plummeted with the previous chapter (and I thought it was pretty good). Chapter 10 has the lowest number of reviews so far, not even hitting 20.

So here's the question... should I keep writing and hope readership (and reviewership) picks up or should I shelf it until September when everyone's back from their fun-filled summers?

Please let me know. Thanks, j


	12. Changing Friendships

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 12: Changing Friendships**

Disclaimer: See Chapter

"What might we do during first stage labor?"

Troy and Sharpay were sitting, uncomfortably, on the floor along with four other couples in the community room of the local YMCA. Of course, everything was uncomfortable at seven months pregnant.

Troy nudged Sharpay and motioned for her to lean over so he could whisper in her ear. "Didn't she ask the same question last week?" She nodded and shrugged.

"Deep breathing?", came a cautious answer from one of the other expectant mothers.

"Yes, that's a good idea", Liz, the English childbirth instructor, nodded enthusiastically, in her distinctly British way.

"Go for a walk?"

"Another good idea."

"A hot drink?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely, a hot drink. Good one." Liz smiled encouragingly.

"Watch ... television?"

"Yeeesss, we might well watch television."

"Read a book?"

"Absolutely. Good idea."

"Umm, excuse me", Sharpay leaned forward and Liz turned toward her. "I'm a little confused. Are you asking what we might do during first stage labor to alleviate the pain or distract ourselves or are you just asking what we might do to pass the time?"

"Just what we might do", she said happily.

At which point, Troy snorted, indicating an impending attack of giggles and Sharpay sat back in amazement. It was like asking what might we do on a Sunday morning … the list could go on forever … and this one did. In fact, it managed to take up the rest of the class. The childbirth class wasn't exactly what she was expecting. She hadn't had huge expectations, but she thought she'd learn what her choices were; be able to make decisions, based on those choices; and know what to expect. So far, she hadn't learned anything that she hadn't already picked up from books. Except she'd learned that should she decide to have an epidural or a Cesarean, she was a very bad person and would be sent straight to hell.

Last week Liz regaled them with scary tales concerning epidurals. "There have been cases", she said in a hushed voice, "of the epidural going", her voice dropped to a whisper, "... wrong."

A sharp intake of breath echoed around the room.

Liz looked at each of them, in turn, making sure she had everyone's attention before continuing with her horror story. "I know of a woman who had an epidural and it", pause for dramatic effect, "went up."

"What do you mean?", someone asked.

"I mean she had no feeling from the waist up, but felt everything from the waist … down."

Everyone gasped in horror, except for Sharpay. She rolled her eyes at Troy and wondered if she could seriously endure another few weeks of pretending that she, too, was going for a natural birth with only humming and breathing to take away the pain. Little did they know, she'd been considering an elective Cesarean. And they'd never know, if she wanted to get out of here alive.

Her main reason for coming to this class was to meet other couples in the neighborhood and having children at the same time. Although she was being very snobby now. She just didn't seem to have anything in common with any of these women. The other women were sweet enough and therefore, Sharpay really had absolutely nothing in common with them. Not that it really mattered anyway, because she was going right back to work as soon as the baby was born.

Sharpay's idea of hell was sitting around a table at the corner Starbucks with four other women, all of them whipping their boobs out to sooth their screaming infants, sharing their birth stories and talking about babies because that's all they had in common, but the loneliness was so overwhelming that this was better than nothing.

On the other hand she understood how important it was to get together with other local mothers to find out what was going on. She had no idea where baby groups were or nurseries or babysitters. They were going to hire on au pair for daytime care, but she knew she would sometimes need a sitter for the evenings and needed to know where to find reliable ones.

"Only another three weeks before the course is over", Sharpay said to Troy as she clutched the pillow to her chest when they left the building. She was required to bring her own pillow to the weekly classes for the time she spent lying on the floor which was most of the hour.

He found the birthing class just as patronizing and ridiculous as she did. "So be nice", she warned him. She had thought they were going to get kick out of this one when he started his ill-disguised giggling fit.

"I'm trying", he said back as they were up River Terrace on their way home. "But I don't think I can do it. I think you may have to do the rest of the course without me."

"No way!" She linked her arm through his. "You're going to keep coming whether you like it or not. Baby told me she wants you there."

He looked at her affectionately. "Baby couldn't possibly have told you she wants me there because: one, baby can't talk and two, baby is a boy."

"You wish", she snorted as they turned the corner and came face to face with Chad and Taylor Danforth.

"Hey, man!", Chad shouted exuberantly as he and Troy hugged. "Gawd, I missed you, dude. I haven't seen you in for...ever."

"Yeah, yeah, me too, man. Me, too." Troy seemed genuinely happy to see his old friend and Sharpay quietly stepped back, slightly behind him so as to not intrude with their reunion.

"We were just talking about you. Weren't we, Tay?"

Taylor stepped up, somewhat bashfully, which made Sharpay wonder what, exactly, they had been saying about Troy.

"It's good to see you again, Troy."

"You too." He hesitated for a beat too long before gently pulling Sharpay forward to greet their fellow East High graduates. "You remember, Sharpay, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Hard to forget", Chad said frankly.

Taylor was more gracious. "How are you, Sharpay?"

"Good."

"Isn't it amazing? All of us living in New York now."

"Yeah, it's … amazing." It was a good thing that she had long ago perfected her fake smile because she needed it now.

Once the polite formalities were out of the way, the four fell into an awkward silence until Chad broke the lull by shivering dramatically. "Man... it's freezin' out here."

Troy didn't take the hint, so Sharpay nudged him, none too gently in the ribs. "Oh, right!", he exclaimed. "My place is only a couple of blocks from here. Why don't we go there for something warm to drink?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Five very quiet minutes later, the four of them walked into Troy's apartment. This was her home now and Sharpay felt very comfortable here. Troy had said it would be temporary. When she moved in, she really had planned on calling a rental agency the following Monday, but somehow she never got around to it. She loved it here and she couldn't wait to return after a long day at work and they were all long days at work now.

She routinely stopped off at the florist on the way home to pick up a fresh-cut flower arrangement for their small dining room table. And she'd even started helping Troy in the kitchen at night, even though she could barely qualify as a chef's assistant. She loved sinking into the sofa and sliding her feet into her sheepskin Ugg slippers. Troy, not so secretly, hated her fluffy, Disney slippers and therefore contrived a story that Boi, her tiny little Yorkie, who'd never chewed anything in his entire life, had torn up her well-worn princess slippers. He said all this while presenting her with an incredibly comfortable new pair of imported Uggs. She secretly adorned these shoes, but would never admit it to Troy.

She loved hefting her sheepskin wrapped feet onto the coffee table and tapping them along to the soundtrack of Wicked and Rent. Troy told her that when the books recommend playing music for the fetus, they were talking about Mozart, not Broadway. However, the last thing she wanted was a nerd and the baby seemed to like it just fine.

She loved her bedroom which was almost as large as Troy's, but most of all she loved the nursery. He'd taken away a small section of the athletic court and contracted a room added there, right next to Sharpay's. They were about to start decorating, now that she was over seven months. Troy tried to insist that they wait until eight, but in reality, even if the baby decided to come now, she would stand a very good chance of being born healthy. They didn't want to jinx anything so they were using a generic color scheme. They picked out a pale pistachio color for the walls and cool lemon for the trimwork. Green, gingham curtains were currently being express shipped from England and just yesterday, they picked up a huge teddy bear rug to put in the center of the room.

Sharpay loved this apartment so much, she didn't think she'd ever want to leave. She had thought about it, of course, but for now, this was working. All of her things fit, including her baby grand piano which was simple to get inside with that awesome freight elevator.

And best of all, Troy seemed to be as comfortable as Sharpay. He loved that she was so happy here; he loved that on occasion she cooked him dinner and he ate it even if it wasn't quite right. He loved that there were flowers in the house and feminine smells. He even loved being pissed off at her for filling the washing machine with lacy undergarments when he was ready to throw in a load of t-shirts.

Sharpay was so comfortable here that it didn't occur to her that she was being watched when she dropped the pillow she'd been carrying on the sofa and removed her coat before whirling around and offering to take their guests' coats for them.

"Shit", exclaimed Chad, as his eyes, which were clearly planted on Sharpay's abdomen, nearly bugged out of his head.

To her credit, Sharpay simply rolled her eyes, ignored Chad and walked over to converse with Taylor. A few minutes later, they were comfortably situated on the sofa and chatting like they were old friends. Sharpay was genuinely impressed with her; impressed that they were both level-headed career women who weren't letting the pressures of society dictate how they were going to live their lives.

"We've thought about starting a family, but I'm no where near ready to make that sort of commitment."

Sharpay smiled and leaned closer to her new friend. "To tell you the truth, neither am I. This baby", she rubbed her stomach affectionately, "wasn't exactly a planned pregnancy."

"Well, to tell _you_ the truth... I was sort of wondering about that. I didn't know you and Troy were together. In fact I didn't know Troy was serious about anyone. I tried to set him up with someone my mom knows. You see … my mom and this girl's aunt were..."

Sharpay cut her off. "I know Gisele. In fact we're very good friends. Did you know she was pregnant?"

"Oh God, girl! The whole world knows that woman is pregnant and exactly, and I mean, exactly, what she's doing in her bedroom every night." Taylor laughed and then, drew in close to Sharpay. "So is it true?", she whispered.

She whispered back, "Is what true?"

"What they say about pregnancy hormones and sex?"

Sharpay paled considerably and looked away, embarrassed.

Luckily, Taylor thought she was embarrassed by the impertinence of the question and not about Sharpay's own lack of experience in that area. Taylor quickly apologized.

Meanwhile, the men were in the kitchen preparing and spiking the hot chocolate.

"Don't add anything in Sharpay's drink", Troy reminded Chad as he poured generous amounts of Kahlua into three of the four mugs.

Chad capped off the bottle and turned to his best friend. "So how are things going with the two of you?"

"Why don't you seem as surprised about this as you should be, Chad?" Troy picked up his cup and leaned back against the counter.

"You did tell me about sleeping with her, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." However, he didn't seemed very convinced. "It's just … I've been thinking … and Sharpay told me that she called and left me a message, but I never saw any message. The secretary said she left one on my desk the day that we went over to Dock's for drinks. That's when I told you about Sharpay, right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Chad didn't like where this was going.

"But there was no message on my desk."

Chad looked down at the floor. "Look, Troy... I didn't think that Sharpay would be such a good thing for you. You'd just gotten divorced from Gabriella and getting into another relationship so close on the heels of that one..."

"You've been doing this to me my whole life, Chad. Thinking that you know what's best for me. I'm tired of my friends trying to run my life and stopping me from doing the things I want to do." (see Author Note)

"What about that little pregnant blonde in there? Are you telling me that she didn't pressure you into taking care of her?"

Troy's eyes lit up in fury. "What happened between Sharpay and me is no one's business but ours. But no! She didn't force me into anything. It was exactly the opposite, in fact. It took me months to get to this point in our relationship." He ran fingers through his hair and turned to his oldest friend. "You need to leave now, Chad."

"But..."

"Just leave!"

Chad walked slowly into the living room where it was obvious that Taylor and Sharpay had heard most of what was said.

"We need to go, Taylor."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just getting reacquainted with Sharpay, Chad. I'm not ready to go home yet." She turned to Sharpay for confirmation and Sharpay smiled reassuringly.

"Of course, you must stay. I haven't even showed you the nursery yet."

Taylor hopped up enthusiastically. "I'd love to see it", she announced as she waved good night to her husband and followed Sharpay into the new room.

Sharpay opened the door and Taylor was almost bowled over by Boi as the little dog came flying out of the room followed closely by a small horse.

"Oh my God, what the hell was that? Is it even legal to keep a horse in an apartment?", Taylor squealed as the chase continued through the apartment and up the stairs to Troy's room.

"Believe it or not", Sharpay replied while trying to contain her giggles. "That's a dog --- a really big dog." By this time, the two dogs had run back down the stairs and Boi leaped up into Sharpay's arms for protection. Amazingly, she caught him with ease. "She's a mastiff", Sharpay explained to Taylor. "Troy! Come get Betty! She's scaring Boi again." Sharpay grimaced as 'Betty' came to a screeching halt just inches from her, the dog digging her sharp claws deep into the beautiful wood floor.

Troy ran over with a huge leash and clipped it onto the huge dog's collar. "I keep telling you, Shar, her name's not Betty; it's Princess. Isn't that right, Princess? She's such a beautiful little girl; yes, she is", he cooed affectionately while rubbing the mastiff's ears.

The gigantic dog closed her eyes in ecstasy as drool started to drop onto the floor. She leaned into Troy's side, nearly knocking him off his feet causing Sharpay and Taylor to start laughing.

"You mean that thing is female?", Taylor asked incredulously.

"Yes and despite what Troy says, she won't even answer to Princess anymore. She actually prefers Betty. Her full name is Ugly Betty."

"Sharpay named her that. The name she came with was Princess. Look, a buddy of mine from work asked me to keep her for a while til he gets moved into a more dog-friendly place."

"Right", added Sharpay, "and that was two weeks ago, so how's that going for him, Troy?"

"Ummm, hey girl, why don't we go for a walk?" Troy tried to lead the dog away, but she wouldn't move. Sharpay gave him a knowing look causing Troy to look chagrin. He tried to whisper to the dog, but both of the women were still able to hear him. "Come, Betty." Immediately, the dog obediently followed him out.

Taylor looked closely at Boi whom Sharpay was finally able to set on the floor.

"Is that really the same dog you had at Lava Springs?"

"Shhh! Don't say that so loud. He's actually Boi's grandson, but he doesn't know. Boi thinks he's the original Boi so don't tell him", Sharpay told her in an exaggerated stage whisper.

Taylor whispered back in the her dramatic fashion. "Your secret is safe with me."

Taylor stayed for another hour and Troy made sure she made it safely into a taxi for her ride home to her 'idiot of a husband', as Taylor put it. When Troy came back in, he and Sharpay talked briefly about Chad and his note thievery and surprisingly, it was Sharpay who defended the curly-hair man.

"He was doing what he, honestly, thought was the best thing for you. It's not his fault that he's an idiot."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

A few nights later Sharpay was running late because of a minor crisis at the office. It appeared, at least on the surface, that someone was trying to undermine her position at work. It wasn't blatant and she couldn't prove anything, but it was disconcerting and troublesome and all Sharpay wanted to do was flop down on that wonderful sofa and let Troy wait on her all night. Her feet were killing her. And now, she so didn't feel like battling that blasted elevator.

However, just as she was reaching out to open the gate, she heard the elevator groan to life above her. Sharpay slumped against the opposite wall in relief. Troy must have seen her exiting the taxi and was coming down to meet her. He truly was the sweetest guy in the world.

A huge smile came to her face as the doors opened to reveal … Gabriella Montez … Bolton. She was standing in the center of the elevator with a scowl on her face until she saw Sharpay. Then, her scowl turned to shock.

They were standing, staring at each other through the elevator's iron safety gate when Troy stepped out from the corner where he'd been standing unseen. He silently pulled back the gate, his eyes locked on Sharpay the entire time.

"Sharpay", Gabriella finally stated once she and Troy had exited the elevator. And it was just that … a statement, neither expecting nor requiring any response.

Sharpay, still flying high on her reconciliation with Taylor, decided to put her best, aching, foot forward. "Hello, Gabriella. You look wonderful. Is that an Armani suit? I recognize the line; it's one of their latest." Sharpay couldn't think of any compliment greater than someone realizing that she was wearing the latest and therefore, the most expensive, designer clothing.

Gabriella obviously didn't feel that way. She snapped at her. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes quickly running up and down Sharpay's frame.

"I-I...", Sharpay stumbled over the words. Damn, she hated feeling intimidated by this woman, but she couldn't seem to help it.

Troy stepped between the two, explaining, calmly, "She lives here, Gabriella."

"She what? What have you done, Troy, turned your apartment into a home for wayward girls?"

"Excuse me?" Finally, Sharpay found her voice. "_Wayward girls_? What century are you living in?"

Gabriella completely ignored her and started walking toward the exit. "It's just like you, Troy, always taking in strays."

"I'm not a stray, damnit!" Sharpay shouted as she stamped her foot. Of course, that foot stomping tantrum was much more effective in 4-inch Pradas. The white Nike sneakers she was forced to wear since her feet started swelling made her look like the caricature of a big city commuter. "I have every right to be here; I'm carrying his baby."

Gabriella stopped short and whirled around. "That's not possible; he's sterile. We tried for over a year to get pregnant."

"Yeah? Well, his boys were swimming just fine for me, thank you very much! And that suit may be nice, but those shoes are three years old and the color is soooo last year."

"You tell her, Shar", Troy said encouragingly.

Gabriella turned to Troy and smiled wickedly. "And you believe her? If I were you, I'd get a DNA test. She's obviously just using you." She turned on her three year old shoes and stormed out.

Troy took a deep breath when they heard the outside door shut and he reached over and took Sharpay's hand in his. "You're probably wondering why she was here in the first place." Sharpay said nothing. "She had this really cool great-uncle who just passed away. It seems that no one told him about the divorce and he left us some money, but she needed my signature to get it. It's $100,000, so even to someone with Gabriella's income, it was worth the trip." Sharpay was still silent and Troy looked nervous as he continued. "And I guess you figured out that I never got around to telling her, huh?" She continued to say nothing. "You okay?", he asked in concern. She'd been completely silent on their way back into the apartment.

"We could have a paternity test, you know? I wouldn't mind", she said pensively while studying his face.

Troy looked at her with complete devotion and faith. "We don't need to do that, Sharpay. You're my best friend and I trust you completely. Plus I'll know within two years if he's mine."

She raised an eyebrow.

"He'll burp like a beer-guzzling arm-chair quarterback and he'll have this unnatural affinity for basketball."

"She", Sharpay corrected as she rubbed her belly affectionately.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"You know what it is?", he asked one Friday night when they'd just finished a homecooked meal of roast chicken and green beans almondine. "I don't think I ever realized before you moved in how lonely I'd been … for years. And now, I'm not lonely anymore."

Sharpay snorted. "How could you possibly have been lonely … for years when you were married to Gabriella … for years?"

"That's the point. I never thought you could be lonely when you were living with someone, but now I think there's nothing lonelier than being in an unhappy relationship."

"So now I'm your lady in shining armor --- sent to rescue you from years of TV dinners and holey socks."

"Why? Are you willing to mend my socks? 'Cause I've actually got a couple in my drawer upstairs..."

"Screw you!" She grabbed the closest sofa pillow and whacked him on the head.

"If you weren't pregnant, I'd whack you back", he said indignantly.

"If I weren't pregnant, I wouldn't be here and you'd be having frozen pizza for dinner."

"Are you trying to say I can't cook?", he asked with a wounded look. "Because if that's the case, screw you!" And with that, he picked up her mango smoothie and dumped it all over her head.

"I can't believe you did that." She sat in complete shock while the orange liquid dripped off her hair and landed in her lap. "I can't_ believe_ you did that."

Troy sat back, crossed his arms and waited with a grin on his face. He was waiting for her counterattack, but she was too stunned to do anything. Sharpay was in complete shock and she started to laugh.

"God, you look ridiculous." He joined her in the laughter and started laughing so hard that he didn't notice her cupping her hands together and scooping a huge handful of smoothie from her lap.

Next thing he knew, the smoothie was sliding slowly down his nose. With a combined giggle/scream, she jumped up and ran out of the room because revenge would be his and she knew it was going to be bigger than a mango smoothie. She also knew a safe place to hide and so headed straight for the newly decorated nursery.

Sharpay held up her hands to ward him off. "Stop, Troy! Not in the nursery! We just finished decorating."

"You can clean it up later." He advanced into the room, holding two open cartons of Chunky Monkey ice cream in his hands and a grin on his face.

"Shit!", she screamed.

"Revenge is mine!"

"No!", Sharpay shrieked, but she started giggling as he drew closer. "I'm serious. Think of the baby."

"The baby _loves_ Chunky Monkey", Troy said, which, of course, was what Sharpay had been telling him for weeks in order to explain her new found obsession with a flavor of ice cream that prior to her pregnancy she found truly revolting.

She was backed into a corner and there was nowhere to go. With a final squeal, Troy got her and he was loving every minute of smearing ice cream all over her face and hair. In the end she gave up trying to escape and as he smeared it on her, she was smearing it off and wiping it on him until they were both covered.

They were both grinning widely when the strangest thing happened. Troy's face was inches from hers and suddenly she wanted to kiss him. She looked at his lips and all she could think about was licking them, feeling his lips on hers, his tongue in her mouth and the smile fell off her face as she felt herself overcome with lust. Troy must have sensed it because suddenly he wasn't smiling anymore either and the only noise was the sound of both of them panting. He looked deeply into her eyes.

"I think...", Sharpay whispered as she tilted her head slightly and moved in closer to him, "I want to find out about these pregnancy orgasms I read about in Cosmo."

"That's the best idea you've had all week", he whispered back just as his lips touched hers.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

**Okay, my friend and beta reader, Trish, suggested I add the following when Troy was talking to Chad about how he's tired of everyone trying to run his life.**

"**I'm tried of my friends trying to run my life and stopping me from doing the things I want to do. I causes me to sing angry songs while dancing on boulders on golf courses in the middle of the desert. And it drives me, literally, up the wall and gives me mad desires to break into the high school in the middle of the night and dance on the ceilings. So stop it!"**

It didn't actually seem to fit in his grown up rant, but I couldn't resist adding it here.

**Woo Hoo!!!! They FINALLY got together … again.** It's actually been so long, I forgot for a second that that's how this whole story started.

I want to let everyone know that I'm expecting lots and lots of reviews for this one. Please. Pretty please. With sugar on top.


	13. Best Man

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 13: Best Man**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

The bedside phone blared throughout the silent, darkened room and Sharpay's hand groped blindly around on the nightstand until she found it.

"Hello?", she mumbled into the handset.

"_Sharpay!"_, Donny's voice shouted back at her. _"Oh my God, Ryan! I've got her!"_, his voice sounded muffled for a second and then came back. _"We've been trying to reach you for hours on your cell. Finally, I got a hold of Gisele, who called Taylor Danforth. Did you know that Gisele's Aunt and Taylor's mother were roommates in college?"_

"What do you want, Donny?", Sharpay snapped while she popped open one eye to look at the clock. "Do you know it's 4:30 in the morning?"

"_I'll get Ryan. He can explain everything."_

Ryan's voice quickly replaced Donny's. _"Sharpay! I'm so excited! I need you to get here as soon as you can." _ She could hear the happiest in his voice and could just imagine the huge smile on his face. Even so, it was still 4:30 in the morning and she hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

"Who's on the phone?", came the gravelly male voice from behind her.

"It's just Ryan, Troy. Go back to sleep."

"_Troy?"_ Ryan sounded like his voice had just risen two octaves. _"Oh God, Donny! Donny! She's finally sleeping with Troy."_

"Ry...an", she groaned.

"_Sorry, but your news is almost as exciting as mine." _ She could hear him taking a deep breath. _"We're getting married!"_

"What?"

"_Donny and I are getting married and I want you to be my best man."_

Sharpay opened her eyes completely at this statement and struggled to sit up in bed. "You what?"

"_Donny and I are getting married and I want you to be my best man_", he happily repeated. _"We're flying to Vermont in an hour and we'll meet you at LaGuardia."_ Ryan then explained to her the details of the trip, including the flight number and departure time.

Thirty minutes later, Troy and Sharpay were sitting in a taxi heading to LaGuardia Airport. Luckily, Troy had been able to reach Betty's owner who agreed to watch the dogs while they were gone. Although, Troy was pretty sure this would obligate him for another month of dogsitting.

"Vermont? Why can't he just go to Connecticut? They recognize gay marriage."

"I don't know, Troy. He said something about honeymooning at a ski lodge."

"Skiiing?", Troy's eyes lit up. "You didn't tell me there would be skiing. I should have brought my snowboard."

Sharpay didn't bother to answer him since she couldn't go skiing at this point in her life anyway. She grabbed onto his arm and snuggled into him instead.

"Thanks for going with me."

"There is no way I'd let the mother of my child go traipsing off to Vermont without me. Especially, after last night..."

"That was … wow. Thank you", Sharpay lifted her head up to meet his lips in a slow, sweet kiss.

"I think I'm the one who's supposed to say thank you", Troy finally said after the kiss ended.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"How much further?", Sharpay grumbled as Donny drove so painstakingly slowly that Sharpay was sure she could walk faster.

"It's only supposed to be a 40 minute drive from the airport", Ryan said as he studied the map from his position on the front seat passenger side. Then, he turned it upside down and commented, "Oh, well this thing makes a lot more sense now."

"The snow is really picking up and I'm trying to be careful." Donny was squinting into the blowing snow and had a tight grip on the steering wheel.

"We've been driving for over an hour and I need to pee! I swear if we don't get there in the next five minutes, someone had better find me an empty Big Gulp cup." What would normally be shocking to say in front of three men had no effect on anyone in the small rental car. Ryan had known Sharpay, literally, his entire life; Donny, as her personal assistant, had made enough mid-day tampon runs to the corner drug store that nothing shocked him anymore; and Troy... Troy was sound asleep.

Sharpay glared over at him in dismay. How could he possibly sleep at a time like this?

"Troy!", she hissed while jabbing him in the ribs. "Troy, wake up!"

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times and slowly swallowed before replying. "Huh? We there?"

"No, we're not there. I have to pee and I need you to distract me."

He blinked sleepily a couple of times before finally sitting up and rubbing a hand over his face. "Umm, sure. Yeah, I can do that." Then his voice morphed into a higher pitch and he said a decidedly fake English accent, reminiscent of Monty Python, "What might we do during first stage labor?"

Sharpay smiled widely and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "You are so sweet. You're the best man in the world."

"Not this weekend", Ryan said from the front seat. "This weekend you're the best man, Shar. And tonight, I'm expecting a fantastic bachelor party."

"Bachelor party?"

"Yep, it's one of the duties of the best man to throw the groom a bachelor party."

"Yeah? Well, which one of you two is the groom?"

They looked at each curiously and shrugged. "Good question."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

They managed to make it into the ski lodge just before the roads closed and Sharpay was able to find a bathroom before she was forced to embarrass her male companions.

"Welcome to Stowe Mountain", greeted the clerk as Ryan stepped up to the front desk.

"Hi, I have two rooms reserved. The honeymoon suite and a regular suite under the name of Ryan Evans."

The clerk glanced over at the other three people in Ryan's group. Sharpay had just rejoined Troy and he wrapped his arm around her as she walked up.

The clerk eyed Troy and Sharpay curiously. "No sense waiting til the last minute … I always say", he mumbled to Ryan in a voice that was clearly meant not to be heard by anyone else.

"Huh?", Ryan asked, but the clerk, realizing the inappropriateness of his comment, quickly gave Ryan his keycards and called the bellhop over to carry their luggage.

"Wow!", Troy exclaimed as he and Sharpay were ushered into their room by an overenthusiastic bellhop who was obviously jockeying for a good tip.

The room was incredible. In the center was a freestanding gas fireplace with the quintessential white bearskin rug lying in front of it. The bed was against the far wall and it had more pillows on it than Troy thought was legal. Plus it was round. At the small dining table next on the other side of the fireplace, sat a chilled champagne bottle and two flutes.

"That's amazing. I wonder where you buy round sheets", Troy commented as he flopped back onto the huge bed and sighed.

Sharpay, for her part, was investigating the bathroom; it had been about 20 minutes since her last stop there. It was huge, twice the size of a normal hotel room and the Jacuzzi bathtub was large enough to hold two people, very comfortably.

"It's just as magnificent in here", she called back to Troy.

"I don't know why I've never been here before", Troy said from the other room. "I mean this room is just so incredible."

"Troooy? I need you in here ... Now."

Imagining that she had fallen on the slick bathroom tile, Troy hopped up and ran into the en suite.

Sharpay was propped against the edge of the whirlpool tub and the look on her face told of many things, but being in any sort of distress, wasn't one of them.

"Sharpay?", Troy asked warily.

She let out a long, slow breath. "Feeling … dirty?"

Troy swallowed slowly and looked from Sharpay to the long bathtub and back again.

"Ummm....", he responded nervously.

"Ryan's busy writing his vows with Donny. They won't notice if we're missing for … a couple of hours."

He had his shirt peeled off before he even reached her. Sharpay squealed loudly as he started kissing his way down her neck, pushing her over-sized sweater down, exposing a milky, white shoulder.

"That feels sooo good", she moaned while quickly reaching up under her sweater to pull off her stretch pants.

"For the love of all that's holy, stop! Stop, right now!"

Troy and Sharpay jerked apart and turned toward the sound of the voice. Ryan stood with a particularly disgusted look on his face in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Ryan!", Sharpay shouted back indignantly. "Get out of our room!"

Ryan crossed his arms and leaned against the door, obviously enjoying his sister's discomfort.

"Now that's where you're wrong, Sharpay. I have no idea why, _but..._ the desk gave you the honeymoon suite and gave us the regular room."

"What are you saying, Ryan? You're going to make me, a pregnant woman, change rooms? You call and wake me up at some ungodly hour; drag me up to Vermont in the middle of snow storm; tell me I have to arrange a party with no notice and now... you're making us leave the only bright spot in the entire trip." She started to choke up at the end of her tirade and her eyes welled up with tears as she stared imploringly at her brother.

Ryan stamped his foot, in true Evans fashion, and turned to leave. "No fair, playing the hormone card, Shar", he called back over his shoulder. "Just remember, you're leaving in two days and we'll have the room for the rest of the week."

After the door slammed, Troy slowly walked up behind Sharpay and tentatively placed his hands on her shoulders. She surprised him by whirling around with a huge smile on her face and no sign of tears in her eyes.

"And to think, he's the one who went to Julliard. Ha!" She stood up on her tiptoes and started to kiss Troy, but he pulled away with a questioningly look on his face.

"You mean, you faked the tears?"

She nodded. "'Bout time I started milking these damn hormones. They've been running rampant through my life for months now." She kissed him gently and asked, "Now... where were we?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

A couple of hours later, Sharpay clicked off the phone and handed it back to Troy.

"Thanks again. I can't believe I forgot my phone."

"In all that chaos, I'm amazed we even got out the door. So, is everything set?"

"Yep, I had to pay three times his normal rate and the poor guy is coming up the mountain on a snowmobile, but I got Ryan a male stripper for tonight. I hope he's not expecting much because I just don't have the time or the energy to come up with much more."

Troy sat down next to her on the sofa and slowly ran the back of his hand down her cheek. "I think I deserve credit for your lack of energy."

Sharpay rubbed her tummy while answering. "Well, yeah... Wait!" She grabbed his hand and placed it on her abdomen where the baby was doing flip flops. "Feel that?", she nodded encouragingly.

Troy held his breath and said nothing. Sharpay's face fell, assuming that once again the allusive little wiggle worm was hiding from him.

"That's amazing", Troy whispered.

"You feel her? You really do; you're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?"

"No, I really feel him. You know maybe basketball won't be his game after all. Maybe it'll be soccer or football."

"Help me up." Sharpay held out her hand, ignoring Troy's ridiculous comment about his male progeny who was obviously going to be female. "We got a couple of hours until dinner and I have to go talk Ryan out of getting married."

"You what?"

"It's one of the duties of the best man, but it's just a formality. I secretly love Donny and know Ryan could never do better than him, but tradition is tradition." Then, noticing the forlorn look on Troy's face, she added, "Why don't you rent a snowboard and hit the slopes with Donny? We have about three hours until dinner." She smiled softly at him as his eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.

"Seriously? That would be fantastic! And I promise not to break any bones." At her puzzled look, Troy explained. "It's just something my mom always said before I did anything remotely dangerous … like crossing the street or something."

"Thankfully, I'm not your mother … but just the same, _don't_ break a leg, okay?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Soooo... when are you going to tell me about this new development with Troy?", Ryan pondered while he and Sharpay sat at one of the small tables in the lodge's bar. At this time of day, most people were on the slopes and it was mostly empty.

"Never", she replied curtly.

"That's not fair", the blonde pouted at his sister. "We've always told each other about our dates."

"Dates, yes. But Troy is much more than a date. And besides, I haven't heard any juicy details about Donny." Sharpay's face took on a startled look and she added, "Not that I actually _want_ to hear any details."

"You're right … It's hard to explain, but Donny's … well, he's my soulmate, Shar."

"I understand completely and I feel the same way about Troy. Even though it took me forever to figure it out."

"What is this? My little sister actually admitting she's in love?"

"I never said that", Sharpay snapped without much conviction.

"Who'd'ya think you're kiddin'  
He's the Earth and heaven to you"

Always the Disney fan, Ryan went straight into a, luckily, quiet rendition of "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from the animated movie, Hercules.

"Try to keep it hidden  
Honey, we can see right through you  
Girl, ya can't conceal it  
We know how ya feel and  
Who you're thiiiiinking o-of-of"

Sharpay couldn't help it. There was still too much of the performer in her and she immediately retorted with Meg's line from the song complete with hand gestures.

"No chance, no way  
I won't say it, no, no"

Ryan stood and came around to her side of the table, standing behind her chair. He whispered the Muses' words into Sharpay's ear.

"You swoon, you sigh  
why deny it, uh-oh"

Sharpay leaned her head back to look at Ryan upside down.

"It's too cliche  
I won't say I'm in love"

Ryan laughed gently and offered to get Sharpay another herbal tea from the bar. "We haven't done that in years. I forgot how much fun it is."

"Yeah, it is... but don't you think this obsession with Disney movies is a little odd for a grown man?"

Ryan ignored her comment and went to get their drinks.

After he was out of earshot, Sharpay whispered into her empty tea cup the last two lines of the song.

"At least out loud,  
I won't say I'm in loooove"

A few minutes later Ryan returned with a cup of tea and a bottle of beer and sat back down.

Sharpay leaned forward to take a sip of her hot herbal tea. "Oh, I almost forgot …" Sharpay cleared her throat and sat up straight, speaking in a lecturing tone, "Ryan... don't you think you're rushing into this thing? You've only known him for a couple of months."

Taken aback by her change in behavior, Ryan spoke sharply. "Absolutely not, I already told you; he's my soulmate."

"Okay, okay... I just had one more thing to check off my list of 'best man' duties. Now I can say that I tried my best to talk you out of it and we can move on with our lives."

Ryan relaxed and leaned back in his chair when a huge smile came across his face.

"What's so funny?", Sharpay asked suspiciously.

"I was just remembering when I told you about my first time."

"Oh, God! Don't bring that up again."

"And you told me about yours", Ryan continued, undeterred. "Only … we didn't realize it was the same guy."

They both got a faraway look on their faces and secret little smiles came, unbidden, to their lips.

"Javier..." Both twins sighed simultaneously as they remembered the swarthy Spanish lifeguard who worked at Lava Springs during their high school years.

Sharpay came out of the trance first and rolled her eyes at Ryan. "I can't believe he cheated on me with my own brother. That's like a whole new level of weird."

"Yeah, but that's when we agreed to start telling each other about our love lives. Remember we didn't find out about Javier until after we graduated from high school."

"And to think I recommended him for a promotion."

"Honey, you know what you were like in your teenage years; he deserved that promotion."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Jake was lying sprawled on Troy's long sofa dozing off and on while snuggling under his friend's fleece blanket. Although if asked later, he would deny it. Real men did not _snuggle_.

This was a sweet gig.

He got to hang out here for two days, eating Troy's food and drinking Troy's beer. Plus there was that container he found in the frig full of some sort of fruity smoothie thing that was really yummy. Of course, he would never admit to liking it. Real men did not drink _smoothies_. And all he had to do was take care of his own dog … which he should have been doing anyway... and a little teacup pooch that belonged to Troy's girlfriend.

BRRRRING!!! BRRRRING!!!

Jake heard the phone ringing, but had little inclination to answer it. He felt like he'd already done his duty today after Princess, AKA Betty, had dragged him and that little rat dog all over New York City. After ten blocks, Jake had had to carry the little dog because he couldn't keep up anymore. He really needed to have a talk with that mutt, after all he was male. However, the way he cowered away from Betty was just embarrassing to the entire male race.

BRRRRING!!! BRRRRING!!!

There it went again. Jake pulled a pillow over his head and tried to ignore the ringing, which was going quite well until a heavy weight suddenly started crushing his chest, making breathing almost impossible. Jake whipped off the pillow and found himself staring into the drooling guise of his erstwhile Mastiff. Betty was grinning at him and slowing dripping her spittle onto his face.

Jake tried, unsuccessfully, to push Betty away, but her bulk made this impossible. He gave up and decided to concentrate on trying to breath while a 125 lbs Mastiff stood on his chest. That's when he noticed Boi, standing on the arm of the sofa and staring down at him with something dangling from his little mouth. His little teeth were clamped tightly onto the charm which was attached to a sparkling pink cellphone.

BRRRRING!!! BRRRRING!!!

The phone started ringing again and Jake admitted defeat as he reached up and pulled the phone from the Yorkie's mouth. Immediately, both dogs jumped down and Jake breathed a literal sigh of relief. He stared at them briefly before answering the phone and noticed that they sat quietly, side-by-side, appearing for all intents and purposes to be the best of friends. Jake guessed that working together in "The Great Phone Caper" had helped forge the beginnings of a friendship. He wouldn't have to have that talk with Boi after all.

"Yeah?", Jake grumbled into the phone.

An upper east side accent, dripping culture and the money that came with it, asked cautiously, _"May I speak with Sharpay Evans, please?"_

"Sharpay? She ain't here." Normally, Jake always tried to use correct grammar, but he knew that people who sounded like this woman would be royally peeved to be forced to talk to someone from the lower working class which was what he was emulating.

"_Oh..."_ There was a definite air of entitlement, even in that one syllable. This wasn't a woman who was used to hearing no. _"When do you expect her return?"_

"No clue..." Suddenly, Jake was struck with the similarity in speech between this woman and Sharpay, who he secretly thought was quite the looker if she wasn't knocked up. Anyway, she was his buddy's girlfriend and he didn't want to be rude to any of her relatives. "You're not her mother, are you?"

"_Mother!"_, the woman snapped. _"I'm her employer and I need her to pick up a very important client from the airport tomorrow morning."_

"Oh, she can't do that cuz they won't be back 'til Monday mornin'." Jake noticed that the longer he talked to this woman the worst his grammar became.

"_Where is she?"_

"I ain't exactly sure... somewhere in Vermont. They said somethin' 'bout a wedding."

"_A wedding? She wouldn't dare!"_ Then, the woman seemed to completely forget that Jake was on the phone as she started mumbling to herself. _"She promised me that things wouldn't change, but I should have known better. Damnit! Well, if she wants things to change, then I'll change them! They're all like this, these young women... careers, bah! The second a good looking guy comes along..."_

She continued her rant and Jake had to hold the phone away from his ear due to save what was left of his hearing. He looked over at the two dogs who were now happily napping together on the rug and realized that what he wanted to do too. Without more thought, he pushed END on Sharpay's glittery phone, rolled over and … on second thought, he picked up the phone, powered it down, rolled over and fell asleep. Let that crazy old lady bitch at someone else next time.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Al Antonelli looked out over the restaurant from his position behind the bar and sighed to himself. How had life come to this? Six months ago he was working in Manhattan, bartending in an almost seedy bar in an almost seedy part of town and he'd never been happier. Now he was _enjoying_ his retirement here in the state of "Freedom and Unity". Ha! The only _freedom_ he ever saw these days was when he worked weekends here at the ski resort. And _unity_... he'd had it up to here with all the unity he was getting from his crazy Vermont relatives. There was only one of them he could even stomach for more than five minutes and that was his nephew, the male stripper. Didn't that say a lot about his family?

"Hiya, Uncle Al? How's it hangin'?"

"Speak of the devil and he doth appear. How ya doin', Norman", Al grunted in his heavy Brooklyn accent.

"I'm only a devil for the ladies, Al. … Only for the ladies", came the suave reply. A tall handsome man who looked nothing like his burly uncle slid smoothly onto the barstool. He had slicked back black hair and a permanent three-day old growth of beard which seemed to accentuate his Italian ancestry. His deep-set dark eyes held just a hint of danger which provided just the right amount of mystique to his appearance. "And please, don't call me Norman in public. My stage name is Fabio."

Al placed a draft beer in front of him and commented, "Norman is a fine name. Your muddah, my dear sista, named ya that after our grandfaddah and ya should be proud of it."

Norman held up his hands in defense. "Okay, okay. Sorry, Al, but I'm working tonight, so tonight I'm Fabio."

"Nor... Fabio", Al sighed again. It was going to be a long night. "We're snowed in. How'd ya even get up here?"

"Snowmobile... These crazy people paid me three times my normal rate, so I took ma's snowmobile and here I am."

"How is Delores, anyhow?"

Nor... Fabio took a sip of his beer. "She's fine. She told me she expects you at dinner on Wednesday, so don't make plans."

"Nuthin' could get me away from your muddah's pot roast. So what are ya here for? Birthday? Hen party?"

"Bachelorette party... some chick named Sharpay... wonder if that's _her_ stage name?" He chuckled. "I got about 15 minutes, then I'll go find her … and then...", he ran a hand over his already perfect hair, "I'll make her wish she wasn't getting married."

The two continued to talk casually for the next few minutes until it was time for Fabio to change into his costume. A long night, indeed.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter is dedicated to my "Hercules"-obsessed friend, Katie.

Even though I've already explained it, I'll just say again that the song Ryan and Sharpay sang was "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from the Disney's Hercules. It was sang between the 7 Muses and Meg, the 'tart' who was sent by Hades to seduce Hercules and it's a great song and seemed to fit in perfectly. Go youtube it. And what a coincidence, it was on Disney this week.

This chapter was getting a little long, so I thought I'd end it here.

Does everyone recognize the bartender? What a small world. Wonder what will happen when Sharpay runs into him?

And Doreen doesn't seem too happy now, does she? Wonder what devious plans she has in mind for Sharpay?

Please R&R. Thanks.


	14. The Bachelor Party

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 14: The Bachelor Party**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

They were just finishing dinner when the waiter came up behind Ryan and whispered something into his ear. With a puzzled expression on his face, Ryan nodded his head towards Sharpay; the waiter quickly withdrew from the table and disappeared.

"What was that about?", Troy asked as he leaned back in his chair and stretched. It had been an exhausting day. He'd been rousted out of bed before dawn, flown up to Vermont in a commuter plane that would scare even the most seasoned traveler, made love to Sharpay (her enthusiasm still made him blush), and finally, went snowboarding for a couple of hours with Donny (whose skill on the slopes, surprisingly, matched his own). He was worn out and he could just imagine how Sharpay must be feeling. After all, she was almost eight months pregnant.

"No idea", replied Ryan. "He wanted to know if she was named Sharpay? Weird, huh?"

"Well...", Sharpay seemed to consider her words carefully. "You know in some circles, I am, somewhat, notable."

"Sure you are, honey", Troy chuckled. At Sharpay's instantaneous glare, he immediately started backpedaling. "I-I mean … you are very … notable in New York, but I doubt a backwater town like Stowe, Vermont would recognize Dolce or Gabbana if they walked in here."

"Wow, Dolce and Gabbana... I'm impressed you even know those names", Ryan said, taking a long draw on the straw in his pink Cosmo Rita.

"I guess Sharpay's rubbing off on me."

"Oh, I know what you mean", Donny chimed in. He'd drank way too many Appletini's tonight was feeling quite brave. "Ryan's such an amazing dancer that I've actually signed up for tap dancing classes." The love was shining in Donny's eyes.

"I hate to admit it, but Ryan has always been a better dancer than me." Everyone turned to stare at Sharpay in disbelief … until she continued. "Of course, I'm the better singer … and actor." The three men all nodded, more in the comforting knowledge that Sharpay hadn't completely changed than in agreement with her statement.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and a spotlight appeared near the piano which sat on a raised platform in the center of the restaurant. Normally, there would have been a lounge singer entertaining the patrons, but due to the weather, the piano player hadn't made it up the mountain tonight. Sharpay looked up incredulously toward that lonely spot of light. She had a bad feeling about this. They wouldn't actually allow a stripper to perform in the middle of a restaurant, would they? This was Vermont, not California.

"Oh, no", she groaned.

Troy's head shot up and his fatigue immediately fell away. "Are you okay? You're not in labor, are you?"

"What?", she snapped. She didn't have time for his over-protectiveness now. "Of course, not. That only happens in poorly written movie scripts and on sit-coms during sweeps week. Unfortunately, this is real life."

A chorus of trumpets sounded as a song started to play with a slow, hypnotic beat. A distinctive male grunted a seductive "Huh!"

Ryan smiled and glanced quickly over at Sharpay, who looked abashedly up at him and shrugged. "That's Tom Jones, isn't it?" She nodded weakly in agreement. It was the song she requested, at least. Sharpay took a brief survey of the restaurant and saw, to her eternal relief, that they were the only customers left. She hadn't realized how late it was.

"Happy Bachelor Party, Ryan", she said weakly.

Their attention was drawn back to the spotlight when a tall, dark and extremely handsome man appeared, wearing black tuxedo pants and jacket and red silk vest, but no shirt over his smooth, tanned chest … only a red bow tie around his well-muscled neck. And the best of all … perched low on his head was a black felt brimmed hat. Sharpay was struck immediately by how much he reminded her of Javier or it could have just been the fact that they were talking about him earlier or it could just be these effing hormones which were driving her crazy.

The stripper struck a pose and looked directly at Sharpay, his piercing dark eyes, seeming to drill into her skull. She swallowed audibly and he pointed a suggestive finger straight at her.

"Oh, God...", she mumbled.

Ryan looked peeved, Donny amused, and Troy angry.

Tom Jones' voice rang out through the empty restaurant as the hunky stripper slowly approached their table, heading straight to Sharpay.

**  
_Baby, take off your coat, real slow.  
_**

He slowly peeled off his tuxedo coat and with a seductive sway of his hips flung it over his head where it landed, unfortunately, on Troy's head. Donny giggled and Sharpay shrank slowly into her seat.

**_Baby, take off your shoes. I'll help you take off your shoes._  
**

He stopped a few feet from her and toed off his shoes, revealing surprisingly sexy feet. Could a man's feet actually be considered sexy?

**_Baby, take off your vest. Yes, yes, yes._  
**  
It took him an excruciatingly long amount of time to finally remove that vest. It landed in Donny's lap and he was delighted.

**_You can leave your hat on.  
You can leave your hat on.  
You can leave your hat on.  
_**  
He alternately teased her with that hat by removing it briefly and holding it over his crotch suggestively while thrusting his hips into the lucky hat before quickly returning it to his head with a wink and a nod to the … lady of the hour.

This had to stop. Sharpay pulled herself up with the aid of the table and announced in her most authoritative voice, "This is a mistake!"

The music stopped immediately and Mr. Sexy Stripper Man looked at her knowingly. "Of course it is, my darling, but usually the bride doesn't decide to call off the wedding until I've finished my dance."

Why, that pompous, obnoxious... It was one thing to be so damn sexy, but to be so blatantly aware of it... that was obscene.

"No, you idiot! I'm not the the bride! He is!" She pointed an accusing finger at Ryan.

To his credit, Fabio blinked once, … twice and said, "Oh. No problem." He turned to Ryan. "Would you like me to start over or should I start from here?" You gotta love the socially liberal state of Vermont.

Donny was giggling so hard that he was nearly falling out of his chair. And Troy was having problems hiding his sudden smile.

Ryan replied, nonplussed, "You can just pick up from here."

The music started again and Sharpay moaned, "I need a drink", as she stormed off toward the bar, trying her best to ignore the sound of Ryan's whooping and Donny's giggling.

"I'll join you", Troy announced as he hurried to catch up.

The bartender had his back to her when she awkwardly shifted onto a barstool.

She deadpanned at his back, "Give me a Virgin Screaming Orgasm."

Al, always the quick wit, replied, "Sure Sweetie, but keep in mind... yous can only have one of those in a lifetime."

Sharpay's eyes widened in surprise and then, instantly narrowed in anger. "YOU!", she shouted at the confused man. Holding onto her belly, she continued, "This is all your fault, you SOB!"

Al raised his hands in a defensive gesture, but started mixing her requested drink, by rout. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You got it wrong, lady. I've never seen you in my entire life. I think I'd remember if I slept with you."

Sharpay rolled her eyes at this idiot. She should have stayed and watched the stripper. "Ewww! I didn't sleep with you. You got me drunk with some absurdly named drink and he slept with me!" She thumbed her hand over at Troy who smiled broadly.

"Here, lady." Al shoved the drink at her and took step back, trying to distance himself from this crazy woman. "It's on the house."

She angrily pushed the drink away from her and whirled around. Her intention was to storm off dramatically, but she wasn't sure where she wanted to go. She definitely didn't want to go back to the table. The hotel staff had slowly started to slowly drift in and both men and women seemed to be equally enthralled with the performance. Fabio was down to a G-string and she wasn't sure how many more he was wearing, but she didn't want to be there when the final one came off.

Troy stepped up behind her and gently took her elbow, guiding her away from the dance scene.

They walked away from the crowd and out onto a snow covered balcony. The frigid air felt wonderful to her and Sharpay knew this was exactly what she needed. Troy stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her still expanded stomach and she melted into the feel of his solid chest.

Angling her head up, she murmured into his shoulder, "Thanks."

He didn't reply, but gently laid his head on top of hers, enjoying the feel of her warm body melted against his.

Sharpay closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh, cold Vermont air. Still with her eyes closed, she asked, with a cautious edge to her voice, "Sorry about that stripper mix-up. It was really embarrassing."

She felt him shrug his shoulders. "It's okay. I didn't like the way he was looking at you, but I guess since he was being paid three times his normal fee..."

She slapped his arm playfully and snorted, "Oh, funny. Very, very funny." After a moment to think, Sharpay added, "It's weird though, how people keep mixing us up with Ryan and Donny. First there was the room and now, the stripper."

"Yeah, funny...", Troy mumbled in agreement as he started to nuzzle behind her ear and trail kisses down the slim column of her neck.

That movement, alone, would be enough to turn Sharpay's insides to jelly, but combined with her stressful evening, her hormonal response was hitting her full force. An achingly familiar tingle was beginning to throb between her legs and she turned awkwardly in his arms as Troy continued his assault on her senses.

Breathlessly, she gasped out, "We only have one night in that magnificent suite."

He looked up from his ministrations. "Then, why are we still standing here?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

No one noticed them creeping through the restaurant … since the entire hotel staff, along with Ryan and Donny, had joined Fabio, who was now sporting a long trench coat and was leading them in an overly erotic version of the Cha Cha Slide.

"Wow, look at that!", Troy exclaimed while pointing out the new magnum of Champagne and a plate of chilled oysters laid out on a small table, placed strategically in front of the roaring fireplace.

"Ooo, I love raw oysters and you know what they say about them", she said as she reached for a half-shell.

"Ah, ah, ah!", Troy said warningly while swooping in to relieve her of the offending mollusk. "Yes, they say that they're dangerous for pregnant women to eat." He popped the oyster into his own mouth and smiled at her.

"That's not fair!" She managed a fairly effective pout. "I can't eat oysters; I can't drink Champagne. What can I do?"

A wry smile came over Troy's face and he reached down and scooped her up, carrying her effortlessly to the round bed.

"Stop!", she squealed. "You'll break your back."

"Not a chance", he replied as he gently lowered her down. "You're still light as a feather."

She pulled him down for a kiss and said the instant before their lips met, "You're a wonderful liar and I love you." She cringed through the kiss, not believing what she'd just said.

Troy raised himself up awkwardly, being careful not to crush her, and looked deeply into Sharpay's eyes. "I love you too."

_Damn, he heard her. _

Sharpay smiled tightly at him. And then, an epiphany hit her square in the gut and it wasn't just the enthusiastic kicking of their child within her. Tears, those damn hormonal tears, sprang unbidden to her eyes and she tried to blink them away to no avail.

"Are you okay?", Troy asked, concern lacing his voice. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" He quickly sat up on the bed next to her.

"What?" She was still so overwhelmed at this new discovery of hers that she didn't hear him at first. "No, no, I'm fine. In fact, I'm better than fine." She struggled to sit up … and failed as she flopped back down.

"It's okay, you don't have to get up", Troy reassured her as his hand gently rubbed her belly.

"No, I need to be vertical for this." She held out her to him and he automatically grabbed on and pulled her to a sitting position.

Sharpay wiped her eyes, careful to avoid smearing her mascara, and took a deep breath. Still holding his hand, she squeezed it and looked into his eyes. "Troy... I. Love. You."

He didn't say anything … just waited. He thought they were already past that and wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Maybe she just needed to hear it again, but that didn't sound like Sharpay; that sounded more like Gabriella.

Sensing his confusion, she took both of his hands in hers and continued. "You don't understand. I love you. I love you. I love you."

Troy opened his mouth to respond. "I..."

"No, you don't have to say it. I'm not saying 'I love you' just to hear you say it back. That's not what this is about. I saying it because it's true and if I'm honest with myself, it's been true for a while now. And now...", she smiled broadly at him. "... now, I'm ready to admit it to you, to me, to the whole world." She stood up and executing an amazingly graceful twirl around the room.

Troy slipped on his 'wtf' face and looked completely bewildered.

"You still don't understand, do you?" He nodded quickly. "You see, Troy... I love Ryan, I love my parents, I love my dog, for God's sake... But I've never … _loved_ … anyone outside my family. I've never had _that_ kind of love with anyone. I may have been … 'in love', but I've never 'loved' anyone … until you." She rushed back and hauled him off the bed. "I … Love … You."

A light seemed to blink on in his head. He got it; he really did, but it wasn't the epiphany it was to her because he'd been feeling this way almost since the first time she came over to his apartment all those months ago.

"This is awesome, Sharpay. We should celebrate."

"Absolutely!", she pushed him backwards with a determined look on her face until the bed hit the back of his knees. "And I know just what I want." She gave him one last shove and Troy plopped back onto the bed. "Sex. I want sex. Right now."

"Yes, ma'am", he replied dutifully. He was starting to love those damn hormones.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Ooooooo"

"Is this good? I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"No, this is great... Just like that. Don't stop. Whatever you do, don't stop."

"I couldn't stop if I wanted to."

"Oh God! That's good. I-I'm close. Faster. I-I need more..."

"Uhh!"

"Unnnnnnuhhhhnnnh "

Sounds of heavy breathing.

"That … was … incredible."

"Yeah."

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1." Ryan sprang through the door with one hand covering his eyes and the other holding an overnight bag. "Finally!", he exclaimed. "I didn't think you two would ever finish." He cautiously parted his fingers to have a peek. "You are finished, right?"

Sharpay shrieked and Troy quickly reached down and pulled up the covers.

"Ryan!", Sharpay angrily shouted. "Why are you here … again? Can't you leave us alone? And were you listening at the door? That's sick."

"It really is, man", agreed Troy.

"Shar, anyone walking down the hall could hear you. You're rather … enthusiastic, you know." Troy nodded in agreement, but said nothing aloud. "And besides, would you have preferred for me to walk in about five minutes earlier? I didn't think so."

"Get out!" She pointed at the now closed door, careful to keep the sheet held up to her neck.

"No can do, sister dear." Ryan walked or rather, staggered over to the table where the champagne and oysters sat and poured himself a flute of the bubbling beverage.

Sharpay looked pleadingly at Troy. "Do something", she whispered as she scooted to the edge of the bed and, carefully holding on to the sheet, stood and wobbled toward the bathroom. "Be gone when I come back out, Ryan."

Troy frantically pulled Sharpay's pillow over and placed it strategically over his middle as he continued to sit in the bed. The sound of the shower turning on caused him to glance briefly at the closed door. He didn't have much time.

"Ryan, why do you keep barging in here? You said we could stay until after the ceremony."

Ryan twirled the champagne around in the glass and casually took a sip before replying. "You see, Troy, it's all about tradition … and tradition's a bitch."

"Huh?" The look on Troy's face would have rivaled some of Ryan's confused expressions back in high school.

"Tradition", Ryan explained sarcastically, "says that the …_ bride_ and … _groom_ can't sleep in the same room on the night before the wedding." He used finger quotes on the words bride and groom. "Yeah", he nodded as if Troy had agreed with him. "I think it's ridiculous too, but Donald, it turns out, is very traditional." Ryan plopped down onto the loveseat next to the fireplace, sloshing his drink onto himself and the upholstery. He didn't seem to notice or care, which Troy knew was very uncharacteristic for him. "Soooo.... here I am." Ryan's arm made a sweeping gesture causing even more liquid to spill. For the first time Troy was secretly glad it wasn't his name attached to this room.

Troy pulled on his boxers which he spotted lying draped over the lampshade and sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to gather his thoughts about how he could convince Ryan to leave and thereby save both of them from an extremely vexed Sharpay. Taking a deep breath and standing slowly, Troy walked over and sat casually on the armrest of the loveseat, as far away from Ryan as he could get. Here he was, about to convince the gay brother of his … well, he wasn't sure what Sharpay was, exactly. Girlfriend didn't seem to be enough; lover seemed cheap; life partner sounded too politically correct. Anyway, he had to convince Ryan that he should go back to his fiance, his male fiance, and stay there tonight instead of pushing himself off on them. Troy liked to consider himself open-minded, but this was pushing it. Awkward didn't even begin to convey how he felt.

"Soooo... Ryan." He looked down at the pale blonde man and sighed again. All the trouble he went through to form some semi-logical arguments to get Ryan out of their room and he just went and fell asleep on the couch. So instead, Troy gently lifted the half-filled Champagne flute out of his hand, drained the glass and proceeded to position Ryan in a more comfortable spot by laying him down on the loveseat and covering him with the fleece throw from the seatback.

He'd just returned the empty glass to the table when Sharpay cautiously opened the bathroom door and entered the room, fleshly showered and wearing one of the hotel's complimentary robes. She took a visual sweep of the room and sighed in relief.

"You did it", she announced. "You are the best, honey." Troy was wide-eyed and quickly realized that she couldn't see Ryan as the loveseat was facing away from the bathroom and the main part of the room. Sharpay yawned luxuriously and walked back to the bed. "I'm dead-tired and I want to hear all about how you got Ryan out, but it's going to have to wait until tomorrow." She held out her hand, inviting him to join her on the bed.

Trying to affect an non-suspicious smile, Troy turned out the lights and climbed into bed … where he laid for the rest of the night worrying about how he was going to get out of this one.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

More trips to youtube... "You Can Leave Your Hat On" has been used by numerous people, male and female, to strip for family, friends and complete strangers. And the funny thing that I found out about it... the song was written by Randy Newman, the same guy who wrote all the songs for Disney's Toy Story. Weird how all roads seem to lead back to Disney.

And Screaming Orgasms are real drinks... makes you think these people must have been drunk when they made up the drink names, doesn't it? It's a mix of vodka, Bailey's Irish Cream and Kahlua. No idea how you would make that nonalcoholic.

I hope that scene that Ryan overheard through the door didn't blow my 'T' rating. I'm trying to be good here. I have an idea for an "M" rated story for my next one though.


	15. The Wedding

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 15: The Wedding**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Ryan moaned and rolled over in his sleep... only to find himself dumped onto the hard floor.

"Oof", he grunted.

Troy's eyes shot open and he looked around the room while at the same time trying not to move excessively. Sharpay had one leg slung over his midsection using him as a human full-body pillow. Her burgeoning belly was propped awkwardly against his lower stomach, supporting the weight of the baby. He was once again struck by how amazing she was. The baby had been kicking off and on all night and he'd felt most of it due to their sleeping positions. Troy didn't understand how Sharpay got any rest at all. He felt horrible. He looked down to study her. The early morning light from the window gave just enough light to see her through her thick curtain of hair as she snuggled more closely into his side. She'd never looked more beautiful to him than she did right now.

"Shit!", Ryan whispered as Troy heard him trying to stand and disentangle himself from the blanket. There was a banging noise right before Ryan's expletive and Troy speculated that he probably hit the heavy wooden end table next to the loveseat.

_Crap, Ryan! You're going to wake her up._

"Five more minutes, Ryan", Sharpay mumbled and flopped over onto her other side while she pulled her pillow over her head. "Tell Mom I need five more minutes."

_Oh, thank goodness. She must be having some sort of flashback to when she lived at home._

"I had the most fantastic dream", she continued, coming more awake with each word. "You won't believe who it was about … Troy Bolton. And he was..." She suddenly jerked off the pillow and propped herself up on her elbows. "What tha?"

By this time, Ryan had managed to stand up and was gingerly rubbing his knee where he had, indeed, banged it into the end table.

"Oh, mornin', Shar", he said casually. Then he rolled his head and started rubbing the right side of his neck. "Hey, you got any Tylenol? My neck is killing me; plus, I've got a killer hangover."

"I thought you left", Sharpay growled.

"What made you think that?"

Sharpay looked over accusingly at Troy who was currently pretending, very unconvincingly, to be asleep. However, before she could affect a decent glare, Ryan sprang towards the athroom announcing as he went, "Dibs on the bathroom!"

"No!!", Sharpay screamed as she raced to the bathroom door, only to have it slammed shut in her face. "Ryan!", she pounded angrily on the door. "This isn't funny, Ryan. Open the door." The only sound she heard was the sound of the shower turning on.

By the time Troy peeked open his eyes, Sharpay was dressed in his sweats, pulling on her Uggs.

"What are you doing?" He sat in the bed watching her carefully for signs of fury.

"So...", she placed her hands on, what was once, her hips and looked at him disdainfully. "Tired of pretending to be asleep?"

"I thought it was the safest course of action. Where are you going?" He repeated his earlier question.

"To Donny's room to pee." She turned back to him before leaving the room. "And listen closely..." Her voice held a menacing edge to it. "I don't care where Ryan goes, but he needs to be out of here before I get back … got it?"

Troy nodded vigorously. "Got it." And she was gone.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

"But I thought this was supposed to be my day", Ryan whined to Troy.

Troy had finally managed to get him to open the door and he didn't look happy.

"Are you delusional, Ryan? Sharpay is almost eight months pregnant. Every day is _her_ day."

"But where will I go?"

Troy had been anticipating this question. If he couldn't stay in the same room with Donny last night, Troy knew they couldn't even see each other today until the ceremony itself.

"You can use the bathroom in the hotel's gym to get ready. It's really nice. You could even use their steam room, if you want. The ceremony isn't until noon; you still have plenty of time."

Ryan's eyes lit up at the mention of the steam room. "Great idea!" He was already gathering up his stuff to leave. "Hey, Troy? What's up with Sharpay, anyhow? I mean, I know she's always been a little high strung, but she just totally went off on me last night and again this morning."

Troy sighed and thought about how to explain a pregnant woman's hormones to the pregnant woman's brother. "Well...", Troy stalled to give himself time to think. "You see, Ryan, pregnant women..."

"Oh, she's horny. I get it. I honestly thought you were finished for the night when I came in. Sorry about that." Troy stood, staring, open mouthed, at the diminutive blonde. "I'd completely forgotten about how sex-obsessed they get. You should have seen Kelsi when she was pregnant. You know I fathered her baby, right?", Ryan asked with pride in his voice.

"Umm, yeah. Sharpay told me you were her sperm donor."

"Right", Ryan admitted reluctantly. "Anyway, she got so horny that at one point she actually propositioned _me_. Crazy, huh?"

"Yeah", Troy smiled nervously, wishing this conversation could end. "So you understand why you really need to leave … like now."

"Say no more. I'm outta here."

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

As soon as the door closed, Troy got to work and by the time, Sharpay walked back in, 20 minutes later, he was ready.

"He's gone, right?", she asked suspiciously while her eyes swept the room.

Troy casually leaned against the door frame of the closed bathroom. "You better believe it."

"Good", Sharpay sighed in relief as she flopped back down on the bed. "I think I'll take a nap."

"Nuh-uh." Troy quickly crossed the room and pulled her up, heading her towards the bath. "I have a little surprise for you."

"Wha--", but the word trailed off abruptly when he opened the bathroom door. Hundreds of tiny little votive candles lit up the room. The large bathtub in the center of the room looked warmly inviting with rose petals floating on top of the water and a light smell of flowers wafting into the air. "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton was playing quietly on a hidden stereo. Not normally an Eric Clapton fan, this was one of Sharpay's favorite romantic songs and she even suggested to Ryan that he play it for the reception, but he vetoed it.

"How?"

"The hotel staff can be very accommodating, especially when it's for the woman who booked the best entertainment this place has seen since, and I quote, 'Frankie and Dean brought the Rat Pack here in the 60's'. Apparently, they loved Fabio and Ryan's bachelor party went on long after he and Donny left last night."

"This is beautiful." She looked around the room in awe. "But why?"

"Well... don't you think you deserve every bit of pampering you can get?"

She tried unsuccessfully to hold back her smile and with a head tilt, replied, "I'm Sharpay Evans; of course, I deserve to be pampered." She delivered the line as if she were wearing a Versace designer evening gown, not a man's sweatsuit which was four sizes too big for her.

"Great", Troy said as he picked up bottle from the vanity table. "I thought we'd start with some massage oil. It's supposed to be tingly and can be used … everywhere."

"Why, Mr. Bolton", Sharpay exclaimed with a fake Scarlett O'Hara accent while her dramatically fanned herself with her hand. "What kind of lady do you take me for?"

"The kind who likes ...", he paused to read aloud from the label of the massage oil, "... the warm, tingling of lightly scented peppermint?"

"You know me sooo well." She grinned wickedly and started peeling off her clothes.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The ceremony was beautiful. Donny and Ryan wore matching tuxedos, the only difference being the color of their bow ties. Ryan's was pink and green plaid, while Donny's was a conservative black silk. Troy wore a charcoal gray suit (the one he reserved for weddings and funerals). Sharpay, not surprisingly, out shown them all in a powder blue, off the shoulder silk gown with an empire waist and a pair of timeless Jimmy Choo flip flops bejeweled with glittery rhinestones. Little did anyone know, but Sharpay had received the dress only a few days before from the designer herself. Giselle was doing a spread on maternity fashions for Vogue and the designer, Annette Bertolli, had decided to branch out to include stylish clothing for expectant mothers. Sharpay was delighted to get her hands on a dress that wasn't even available to public yet.

She proudly stood up for her brother as his best man, the only allowance to her current condition --- she agreed with Troy's suggestion to place a chair near her if she needed to get off her feet. Originally, she and Troy were to be the only witnesses to this private ceremony, but due to the blizzard which had stranded many people at the mountaintop and Ryan and Donny's sudden popularity amid the hotel staff, the wedding was now open to everyone and a capacity crowd filled the lodge's lobby.

Everyone quieted as the minister, who happened to be one of the stranded guests, took his place on the rustic looking staircase, a few steps up so people could see him.

"Beloved friends of Ryan Vance Evans and Donald Jerome Synder … welcome as we bear witness to joining in matrimony of these two soulmates. Ryan and Donny would would now like to share a poem which they find very inspiring.

The two men faced very only and held hands as Sharpay swiped at a stray tear and they hadn't even said anything yet. _Damn hormones._

Donny gazed lovingly into Ryan's eyes and nervously cleared his throat before he recited the following lines,

"In your eyes, I have found my home.  
In your heart, I have found my love.  
In your soul, I have found my mate.  
With you, I am whole, full, alive.  
You make me laugh. You let me cry.  
You are my breath, my every heartbeat.

I am yours.  
You are mine.  
Of this we are certain.  
You are lodged in my heart.  
The small key is lost.  
You must stay there forever."

Ryan gave him an encouraging smile and said,

"You are my inspiration and my soul's fire.  
You are the magic of my days.  
You help me laugh, you teach me love.  
You provide a safe place for me, unlike I've ever known.  
You free me to sing my own song.  
You are more of an amazement to me, each day I rediscover you.  
You are my greatest boon.

I am yours.  
You are mine.  
Of this we are certain.  
You are lodged in my heart.  
The small key is lost.  
You must stay there forever."

"Thank you for sharing that with us." The minister looked up, making eye contact with the congregation. "Donny and Ryan have chosen the tradition vows..." He paused and added with a chuckle, "to the extent that they apply." Then, he launched immediately into the ceremony. "Dearly beloved..."

Sharpay gave up half way through the poetry reading and sat down in her cushioned chair. She looked gratefully over to Troy who was sitting on the first row between the stripper and the bartender. The storm had picked back up last night and both of them were stuck at the resort. Sharpay hardly noticed as she found herself staring unabashedly at Troy, her eyes only for him.

It still amazed her that there was ever a time when she thought she only wanted to be his friend. _God, what an idiot she was!_ This whole wedding had brought up feelings she wasn't sure she wanted to think about. Feelings... She wasn't quite sure what her feelings even were anymore. She felt … happy … excited about the baby … about the future … and she felt relieved and grateful that she wasn't doing all of this by herself. Sharpay paused in her musings to stroke her burgeoning belly. She felt absolutely 100% feminine. She knew this was exactly what her body was designed for. She knew that no matter what heights she might reach in her career, this was the greatest thing she would ever do. She gazed at Troy with complete love in her heart because while she never wanted commitment, never wanted a relationship, now that she had one, she could see why people seek out their other halves. She could see what it was all about. Before Troy, she never thought she was lonely. She probably wasn't, but life was so much easier, so much more enjoyable now that she had someone to share it with. Sharpay was starting to relax into this role and although, she didn't believe for a second that Troy was her soulmate, because despite what Ryan said, she didn't really believe in the concept, she did believe that he had enriched her life and that all that mattered right now.

She was so engrossed in her introspection that she had to give her head a little shake to bring herself back to reality when the minister, announced, "Now that you have joined yourselves in matrimony, may you strive all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and devotion that you now possess. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of Vermont, I now pronounce you, spouses for life."

Sharpay looked over to see Ryan and Donny in a long, but chaste kiss.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The reception was held in the lodge restaurant, the only place large enough to hold the crowd in attendance. The manager had willingly rearranged the room to give them space for dancing. Ryan and Donny took the first dance as tradition dictated. They looked good together and soon other couples joined them to the romantic sounds of Christina Aguilera's "I Turn to You". Some of them looked a bit odd spinning around on the modified dance floor while wearing their wool sweaters and Ugg boots, but everyone seemed to be having fun.

This trip to Vermont really had Troy thinking … thinking things he really shouldn't be thinking. He knew how weddings affected women. It made them start thinking about their own futures, their own weddings, their own happily ever afters. At least that's how it had always been with Gabriella. They'd attended many weddings in the time they'd known each other and they always made him feel awkward, like he was suddenly expected to do something rash, like propose, or something. In fact that was how his proposal to Gabriella had happened, back when they were still in college. They'd gone together to her cousin's wedding in Colorado when they were in their senior year. After too much champagne, he'd found himself asking her to marry him right there on the dance floor at the reception.

Here he was again, at a different wedding, a _very_ different wedding, in fact, and with a different girl, a _very_ different girl, in fact, but he was beginning to get those same obligatory feelings and it scared the hell out of him. He loved Sharpay; he knew that. He'd loved her for months now, ever since they started trying to get to know each other and he realized how well they fit together. But he knew he wasn't ready for marriage again, not now, now yet. It was too soon and he didn't feel his wounds were fully healed, but he didn't want Sharpay to think he was some sort of slimeball. He gripped Sharpay and started swaying more intently to the music, trying to ignore those troublesome thoughts.

Sharpay closed her eyes as Troy took over the dance and started circling her around the room. What a crazy weekend, they'd had. It seemed like ages ago when she awoke in Troy's bed, even though it had only been yesterday. She was happy for her brother, she really was, but … she hated weddings. She hated weddings and everything that went with them: the sickeningly sweet flower arrangements, the over-priced dresses that would never be worn again, the false smiles and insincere well wishers. And mostly, she hated how people looked at her. She was the final hold-out from her clique in high school. The Sharpettes, as they were known, had followed the line society had laid out for them and proceeded to find their true loves and each of them had tied the knot within the first year out of college. In fact Jackie had managed to find her true love … twice. She was currently on husband number two and the last Sharpay heard, things weren't going well with him either.

And now, Ryan... her own brother had beat her to the alter. Well, this was one contest, she didn't mind him winning. She liked being single. Okay, so now, she wasn't exactly single, but she was definitely happy and she didn't want some stupid ceremony and stupid societal views ruining her happily ever after. She just wasn't sure about Troy. He'd been married already and she knew he liked being in a committed relationship. She did too actually. As long as the other person in that relationship was Troy Bolton.

_But God, what if all this syrupy sweetness rubbed off on him and he did something stupid like ask her to marry him? It would ruin everything._

"Sharpay?"

_Oh no, this could be it. Please Troy, don't say anything stupid. Please, please, please._

"Sharpay, w-would you ..." They stopped moving and Sharpay pulled back in his arms to look him in the eye.

"Y-yes?"

"... like some punch?"

"Punch?" Her face broke out in a huge smile. "Yes, Troy. I'd love some punch. I'm suddenly _very_ thirsty." Her reply was overly enthusiastic, boarding on giddy.

They both sighed in obvious relief.

"Great. I'll be right back." Troy couldn't believe how close he'd come to doing something really stupid. He'd never do that again.

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry this has taken so long to post. We had family visiting from out of town and I didn't have time to write. Hope you like it. Please R&R.

FYI... The Rat Pack that Troy referred to was the group of entertainers in the 1960's which included, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr, to name a few. They were also the stars of the original Ocean's 11 movie.

The poem that Ryan and Donny read came from A Book of Women Poets from Antiquity to Now.

It's a poem written by Frau Ava, circa 1160, and wasn't gender specific. I could really see it working for them, especially the part about singing.


	16. The Fallout

_A High School Musical fanfiction_

_by_

_GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 16: The Fallout**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Warning: Contains spoilers for, of all things, the book, Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer.

"Why are you looking so pleased with yourself?", Gisele asked.

Sharpay shrugged nonchalantly as she sank into her chair. "Must be all the sex."

It was Tuesday morning and Sharpay had just walked into the office and she was in the most incredibly wonderful mood she'd been in since … she couldn't remember how long. The storm in Vermont had kept them there an extra day and it was Monday afternoon before the roads were clear enough for her and Troy to leave.

"No!!!! I knew it! I knew you two would get together. It's a shame the rest of your life is falling apart."

Sharpay looked, for the first time, closely at her super-model friend. She looked haggard and not the "I'm pregnant and feel like crap" kind of haggard, which, by the way, Gisele had never experienced --- the bitch.

"What's happened?", Sharpay asked cautiously. It was only then, that she also noticed how quiet it was in the office and realized immediately that her co-workers were all sitting silently in their cubicles, listening intently to this conversation.

"Oh, Sharpay!", Gisele suddenly wailed. "She's taken me away from you and given me to … to … Amy!" She started crying in earnest now.

Sharpay looked puzzled. "Who's Amy? And what do you mean, she gave you to her? You're not someone's property."

Louise, Doreen's secretary, was the only person in the office with the nerve to speak up. The older woman came around the corner with a box of tissues for Gisele and information for Sharpay. "Amy is the new girl and, technically speaking, Doreen can give her to another manager. You don't have a personal services contract with her, Sharpay. You both work for the company."

"But why?" Sharpay felt like a weight was suddenly pressing down on her chest and she sank slowly into her chair.

"The story goes that Doreen tried calling you this weekend for some errand she needed you to do and found out that you'd run off to get married to that hottie, super bomb of yours." It amazed Sharpay that Louise, a sixty year old grandmother, could say hottie, super bomb with a straight face.

"That's crazy! I didn't get married. My brother, Ryan, got married."

"That may be true, but when she couldn't find you and then, Donny called Monday morning to say that he'd quit … well, you can certainly see..."

"Donny quit? What are you talking about? I just saw him yesterday. That can't be right." For the first time in months, Sharpay started to feel a little queasy.

"He told me that he was going to work with, get this, ...his husband." Louise delivered this news as if it was the craziest thing she'd ever heard.

"I've got to call Ryan", Sharpay announced.

"Nope, you've got to get to work", Louise said while holding out a file folder to her. "Here's your new client list."

Sharpay took the folder, but didn't open it. She was still in shock. "Then, I'll talk to Doreen."

"She won't see you. Only the top tier managers are allowed to meet directly with Doreen. You know the rules, Sharpay. And, according to Doreen, you're not in the top tier anymore."

Gisele looked up, mournfully at Sharpay, her eyes were a puffy, red mess, but before she could offer any support, a whiny voice sounded throughout the office. "Ga---zelle? Where are you? You have a photoshoot in less than an hour."

"Oh, Shar", Gisele's voice quivered. "She doesn't even know my name. She keeps calling me Gazelle, like I'm some caribou or something."

A small blonde popped suddenly into the room. She stopped short, teetering precariously on some killer four-inch espadrilles. Sharpay felt an immediate pang of jealousy. She wanted this woman's shoes and her hair... Sharpay lightly fingered her own golden locks. Reeshard had insisted on changing her formula to a natural, organic dye which was better for the baby some months ago. He swore it would look exactly the same, but Sharpay still thought the color was a little off.

The blonde looked directly at Sharpay now, as if she had just suddenly noticed her sitting there which was ridiculous since Sharpay knew she looked like a beached whale.

"Oh, hello Sharpay. Remember me, I'm Amy. You autographed my copy of Cosmo last month. Funny how things turn around so quickly. But, shouldn't you be on your honeymoon? Though I gotta say, if it was me, I'd have waited until after the baby … looks much better for the wedding photos." Her tone was acid as her eyes slid briefly over Sharpay's figure.

Sharpay raised a perfectly arched brow at her. "Did you just give me the _body check_?" She was irate.

"What?", Amy exclaimed in feigned ignorance.

"You did. You just body checked me. You looked me over with your skinnier-than-thou attitude and what … decided I was fat?" Sharpay launched herself out of the chair and Amy instinctively took a step back. "Well, here's the skinny, deary... I'm not FAT, I'm pregnant! And I'll be damned if you take my client, my discovery, away from me. Top tier or not, I'm seeing Doreen. This isn't over yet." She bullied her way past Amy who backed quickly out of Sharpay's way. "Oh, and Amy? Her name is Gisele … use it."

Gisele smiled wanly as Sharpay disappeared into Doreen's glass enclosed sanctuary. The blinds were all closed so no one could see what was happening in the office, but they could definitely hear muffled shouts coming from both women. As the minutes ticked past, more and more employees emerged from their cubicles, all eyes glued to the boss's door.

The door suddenly crashed open and everyone scattered faster than a teenage boy could Google the latest nudie pics of Vanessa Hudgens.

Sharpay walked out with her shoulders held back and eyes fixed straight ahead, but if you knew her you'd realize there was a forlorn caste to her face. She marched quickly to her cubicle and came back out seconds later, carrying her laptop bag and a file folder. She stopped in the middle of the open area and flipped open the folder. With her lips held in a tight grimace, she called out, "Billy Drake and Tom Hammond." Two young men appeared from the breakroom, both of them holding soda cans in their hands and looking like they were being called into the principal's office. "You two have a photoshoot in an hour. Let's go."

Without a backwards look, she walked out of the office. The two men glanced at each other for a microsecond, trashed their soda cans and quickly ran after her.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

"What she's doing can't be legal", Gisele grumbled as she shoved another guacamole-laden tortilla chip into her mouth. "I mean Doreen's just doing this to punish you for something you didn't even do."

"I'm sure she'd love to fire Sharpay, but that would definitely be illegal", Taylor commented as she sipped her diet Coke and watched Gisele and Sharpay enviously as both of them continued to eat the chips as fast as they could. "She'd only be doing it because you're pregnant. It's no more strenuous managing top models than it is managing wannabes, right?"

"Absolutely", Sharpay agreed. "In fact, it's just the opposite. I've been shlepping all over town with Tom and Billy. Those two can't do anything on their own. Who on earth would think there would be so much work for foot models?"

"Foot models? I didn't know such a thing existed."

"Oh, sure", Gisele told Taylor as she awkwardly shifted on the sofa to find a more comfortable position. "There's all sorts of specialty models: feet, hands, eyebrows, ears. It's really amazing."

"Yeah well, my boys specialize in athletic socks", Sharpay snorted. "I mean you can't even see their feet; they could use mannequins, couldn't they?"

"Nope", Gisele answered quickly. "It's a violation of the union rules."

"Right, Foot Models, Local BO-999", Sharpay grumbled while remembering some of the more unpleasant and odorous moments working with the Foot Twins, as she'd started calling them.

"Well, this was a lovely night, but I'm about pooped", Taylor announced as she rose and started to clear up some of the wrapping paper and empty cups littering the area.

Tonight they'd given Sharpay a surprise baby shower and at 37 weeks, she was certainly ready for it. Taylor was right; Doreen was punishing her for getting pregnant and she'd never worked so hard in her whole life. All she had wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep until noon the next day. And since tomorrow was Saturday, that was her exact plan. Instead, Taylor and her friends from the office, which included almost everyone except for Doreen and Amy, had jumped out of their hiding places around the apartment when Sharpay had come dragging herself in around eight o'clock.

Now at 10:30 the only people left were Taylor, Gisele and Sharpay.

"So hang on a minute...", Gisele mused aloud. "Doreen's reduced Sharpay's responsibilities by claiming that she wasn't available for a very important job she needed done during the Vermont weekend, but we all know she did it because she thought Sharpay had run off to get married, right?"

Taylor was still picking up dirty paper plates and plastic Solo cups and Sharpay was idly fingering the satin edging on a yellow receiving blanket, but they both nodded in the affirmative.

"Of course you didn't get married; it was that traitor, Donny, who ran off and got married."

"That's not fair, Gisele. His timing could have been better, but Donny's not a traitor. Ryan had a great opportunity to get Donny on board with him, so you can't blame him for that either." Sharpay couldn't believe she was actually defending their actions; maybe this motherhood stuff was making her soft. Ryan had called her on the afternoon when her career got flushed down the toilet and explained that his production company needed someone with Donny's organizational skills and the ability to work with difficult people. It seemed that his years of groveling to Sharpay was a marketable skill set. After the promise of dogsitting when the baby came, Sharpay had finally forgiven her former assistant.

"Sorry...", Gisele groaned as she, once again, tried to find that elusive comfortable sitting position. "Anyway, couldn't you sue her or something for … I don't know … prenatal discrimination or something?"

This statement peaked Taylor's interest and she stopped in her tracks with her arms full of wrapping paper. Sharpay had started collecting the bows and putting them on a string. There was some tradition involving the bows, but she had no idea what it was. She'd have to ask her mother. She seemed to know all that sort of stuff.

"This is the United States of America. You can sue anybody for anything", Sharpay said jadedly. "That's what Daddy always said."

"That doesn't mean you'll win", Taylor pointed out. "However, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was passed for women just like Sharpay. Women who are being discriminated against because they're pregnant. It was passed as an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

"How on earth do you remember stuff like that?", Sharpay asked.

"It's what I do. I'm an aide to Representative Clinton and she likes to champion women's issues, so I keep up. In fact there's been a rise in EEOC cases lately which is shocking considering that amendment is 40 years old."

"EEOC?", Gisele questioned with a distinct grimace on her face.

Taylor was in her element now and felt suddenly energized. "EEOC", she snapped out, happy to explain. "Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They handle all the legal cases pertaining to employment issues. Under the law Sharpay can't be discriminated against on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. That constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII, which covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. Title VII also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. Women who are pregnant or affected by related conditions must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or employees with similar abilities or limitations."

"You're scary", was Sharpay's only comment.

"So...", Gisele asked in a strained voice. "Are saying we could force Doreen to give Sharpay her old responsibilities back --- like me, for instance? I hate that little poser … Amy. And it's not just me. Everyone hates her; she keeps trying to tell the photographers how to do their jobs. Why just yesterday, Michael walked off the set."

Sharpay gave up on the ribbons and turned her attention to her two friends. "Wait a sec... I'd like my old job back, but I don't want to be someone's _issue_."

"Well, let me take a look at things, but if history is any indication, the backlog in the courts on those kinds of cases could be years. Chelsea Clinton could definitely pull some strings … especially for a friend of mine."

"I could be an issue", Sharpay deadpanned, in a complete reversal of her position 30 seconds earlier.

Just then, Gisele muttered an expletive which was highly uncharacteristic for the demure redhead. While she and Taylor were talking, Gisele had risen from the couch and was headed toward the bathroom when she stopped suddenly and looked down at her feet. "Oh, shit!

Gisele was standing sheepishly in the middle of a puddle. "My water just broke", she announced, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hell no!", Sharpay shouted to everyone's surprise. "You are _not_ going into labor at my baby shower, Gisele! So just get that thought out of your head."

"Ummm, Sharpay? I don't think it's something she can control and technically speaking, the shower was over an hour ago", Taylor, always the calm one, said.

"Call Edward!", Gisele said as she started walking toward the bathroom again.

"Sharpay? Do you have any clothes she could borrow?"

"I might have a pair of long pants that she could use as capris. I'll go check." Sharpay slowly started climbing up the steps, muttering under her breath. "I can't believe she'd do this me. I thought we were friends."

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

"It's a boy", Sharpay said into her cellphone. She was standing in the waiting room of Labor and Delivery with a gaggle of grandparents and friends of the family of what, seemed like, every pregnant woman in New York City.

"_I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you"_, Troy said over the line.

"It's fine, Troy. Not like it's my baby or anything", she still sounded a little bitter. "Although at least 25 people have asked me if I'm in labor since I walked into this hospital. Who ever said pregnancies last nine months were wrong. They last eight months and two years because this last month is endless. And don't you think it's the height of rudeness to go into labor at someone else's baby shower? I mean … really!"

"_It's horrible, Sharpay. Worse than …"_, he struggled to find an appropriate analogy, "_wearing white after Labor Day."_

"What?", she snapped. "That so … _old school_, Troy. You can wear white whenever you want now days. What are you thinking?"

She heard the sigh before he replied. "_I have no idea, babe. Hey, is the baby okay since it's so early?"_

Surprisingly grateful at not having to talk to her beloved about women's fashion, Sharpay happily delivered the good news. "The doctor said he's fine, even though the baby's a month early. Since Gisele's such an amazon anyway, he's plenty big and very healthy. And she had a disgustingly short labor."

"_That's great and I should be home next week. I really miss you."_ Troy's sport show was broadcasting live from Las Vegas for the start of the College Final Four basketball tournament and since Troy was the 'basketball guy', he couldn't get out of it.

Sharpay's voice softened immediately. "I miss you too." She was about to expound on the many things about him that she missed when she looked up and saw Ryan and Donny rushing toward her with concerned looks on their faces. "Troy, I need to go now. Ryan and Donny are here. I'll call you again when I get home. Love you." She closed the phone just as she was engulfed in a double helping of brotherly love.

"We were so worried, Shar!", Ryan exclaimed. "Shouldn't you be sitting down?"

"Shouldn't you be pushing or grunting or something?", Donny added as they finally released her from the group hug. "Or panting", he added belatedly.

"I'm not in labor. Whatever gave you that idea?", Sharpay asked while dragging both of them out the automatic doors and toward the snack bar where they could talk without disturbing the entire hospital.

Ryan gave Donny a knowing look. "I told you she wasn't in labor. Two days ago, the baby hadn't even dropped."

"Well, excuse me, Dr. Doug Ross. I forgot you were such an expert, but her message said she was in labor."

"I did not. I said we were on our way to the hospital and that Gisele was in labor."

Ryan piped up with, "I always thought George Clooney was hot, so anytime you want to compare me to him is fine, Donny."

"Hang on one second", Donny said. He pulled out his cellphone and started pushing a series of buttons before lifting the phone to his ear and listening. His expression changed to one of extreme meekness. "Oh. She said she's on her way to the hospital and Gisele is in labor. Oh, don't look at me like that. I've never been an uncle before. I'm a nervous wreck here, people!" He ran a jittery hand through his short spiky, auburn hair.

Donny was just so cute when he was nervous. Sharpay had to smile as she pulled him into as much of a hug as she could manage. "I've missed you so much, Donny. Work's no fun without you around."

It still amazed her at how well Donny and Ryan fit together. Ryan was just a half-inch taller than Donny and his green eyes matched his auburn hair color as well as Ryan's blue eyes matched his blonde. It was a shame that they couldn't reproduce. Their children would undoubtedly be beautiful. Sharpay had to mentally slap herself for having such an absurd hormonal moment.

"It's a shame what that woman is doing to you, Shar, an absolute shame."

A month ago, she would have reamed him a new one for calling her by her nickname, but that was before he became a member of the family. Now all she could do was smile indulgently and suggest that they take her home via a visit to her favorite 24-hour doughnut shop.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

"We have it, Sharpay!", Taylor came flying into the apartment with huge smile on her face and Chad trailing quietly behind her.

"Have what?", Troy asked as he walked out of the kitchen, still holding a dish towel in his hands.

"A court date!"

Sharpay's eyes went wide and both women started squealing like high school girls. They grabbed each others hands and Taylor began, literally, jumping for joy. Sharpay joined in and jumped … exactly one time … before stopping abruptly. She held up a hand and called a temporary halt to the festivities.

"Hold it there, Taylor. This body isn't equipped for that kind of celebrating right now."

Troy helped Sharpay to the sofa and received only minor complaints.

"Are you serious, Taylor?", Troy asked once he had assured himself that Sharpay was alright. "It's been less than two weeks since you two first started talking about this."

"Yep, I got connections", Taylor said as she placed her laptop bag on the dining room table. "The preliminary hearing is set for Monday."

"That's only four days. Can we be ready?"

"Confidence is high. We've even snagged one of the best EEOC lawyers in the country." Taylor was becoming more and more excited as she spoke. "Get this, people! Martha Cox has agreed to take the case."

"Martha … from high school … Martha?", Sharpay asked. Taylor nodded enthusiastically. "What? Has the entire student body of East High moved to New York City?"

"Only the smart ones, Shar", Troy said and then, added wryly. "Chad just tagged along with Taylor."

Chad rolled his eyes and said, "Hardy-Har-Har, dude." Then he became more serious and addressed Sharpay. "Hey, Sharpay... um... thanks for giving me another chance."

Although the news about the court case was a surprise, seeing the Danforths wasn't. Troy and Sharpay invited them over for dinner tonight to try and mend things with Chad.

"No problem, Chad. It just shows how much we've all grown up since high school."

"Hey, everyone. Dinner's just about ready. Let's eat and Taylor can tell us about her brilliant legal strategy."

Taylor smiled warmly. "If you insist..."

An hour later, Troy and Shapray were both sick of hearing Taylor drone on and on about lawsuits, legal statutes, and precedents. They were even sick of the TV show Law and Order. Chad was convinced that you could find the answer to every legal issue in the world if you watched enough Law and Order reruns. Sharpay was convinced that Chad must be some sort of god in bed; otherwise why in the world would Taylor put up with him?

After dinner they moved into the living room. Sharpay sat on the sofa with her legs on the cushions and Troy casually sat down, lifting her legs and placing them on his lap where he started massaging her feet. Chad watched him complete, what was obviously, a nightly ritual and almost starting laughing at how domesticated his friend had become until he noticed how happy Troy looked. He'd never looked that happy with Gabriella. He always seemed really tense and nervous around her. Sharpay caught his eye and smiled warmly and Chad immediately looked away, embarrassed that he'd been caught staring. Instead, he turned his attention to the big dog who was lying sprawled out on the floor in front of the fireplace. The little one kept dragging things over to the big one and dropping them in front of it. Strange.

"I can't believe those are the same two dogs", Taylor commented when she noticed the dogs' behavior.

"Yeah, it's amazing. They've had a complete turn around. They're like BFF's now", Sharpay said wistfully. "Boi keeps bringing Betty things and trying to make her happy. It's really sweet."

"Yeah … sweet", guffawed Chad loudly and then in a muffled voice that only Taylor could hear, he added, "Dog's whipped too." Taylor's eyes narrowed to tiny slits and she turned to glare at him. If looks could kill, Chad would be dead now. He wasn't dead, but he knew there'd be hell to pay when he got home.

"Hey, I have an idea", Troy announced suddenly, although he and Sharpay had been planning this suggestion all night. "Who wants to watch the baby's latest ultrasound?"

Taylor and Chad would have both preferred to have sharp needles plunged into their eyes. However Taylor, being the good friend that she was, and Chad, trying to get back into Taylor's good graces, responded with an enthusiastic yes.

A DVD suddenly appeared in Troy's hand as if by magic. "Oh, this one is so much clearer than the last."

"That's right", Sharpay agreed. "The first one was the old fuzzy kind where you had to have a PhD to even find the baby. This one's 3-D."

Troy started the player and the baby popped onto the huge 73-inch screen, causing Chad to flinch back in shock.

"See...", Sharpay hopped up from the sofa with surprising agility and ran over to the television pointing to a body part she wanted them to notice. "... the baby's sucking its thumb." She sighed and broke out into a huge smile. "Isn't that the cutest thing ever?"

Troy took his place on the other side of the screen and pointed out another amazing baby part. "Yeah... and see this here..."

Chad and Taylor glanced at each other uneasily. It was like Troy and Sharpay had rehearsed this or something. Chad wouldn't put it past Sharpay, but he couldn't imagine his old buddy actually practicing something like that.

Suddenly, Chad turned his head to the side and actually appeared to be studying the body sloshing around on the screen.

"... unfortunately, this baby is definitely shy and even with the 3-D, we still can't tell whether it's a boy or a girl."

Even though, privately, they continued their on-going competition about the sex of the baby, the expectant couple decided that in public they would be a united front and profess that they didn't care in the least bit what the baby was, as long as it was healthy.

"You know...", Chad finally commented when he couldn't take it anymore. "... what that reminds me of? It looks like something out of that old movie Alien. You remember that scene, Troy, where the nasty alien comes busting out of that guy's stomach." He put his own hand under his shirt and raised his fist up, twisting it around as if it were looking about the room. "Or … or in that Breaking Dawn movie where the baby comes busting out of Bella's stomach."

Taylor just placed her head in hands and waited for the explosion.

Troy, surprisingly, was most shocked by the fact that his best childhood friend had actually seen a girly tween movie like Breaking Dawn.

Sharpay was amused, yes amused, and decided to see how far he'd go with this. She decided to let him hang himself.

"Oh, speaking of Breaking Dawn... I got a great idea for a name if it's a girl. You know like they did in the movie --- name her after her two grandmothers. The grandmothers are named Lucille and Darby, right? So you could name her Lu-by or Darcille." Chad cackled wildly at what he thought was an incredibly funny joke.

Troy closed his eyes and braced himself for the onslaught while Taylor quietly stood and started to put on her coat in preparation for leaving.

"Get out, Chad! Now!", Sharpay's face was beet-red and Troy was concerned that her blood pressure might be affected.

"But...", Chad started to say, but Taylor cut him off.

"Let's go, Chad." She shoved his coat at him and pushed him towards the door. Turning back to Sharpay, she added, "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

After they were alone, Sharpay let out a long slow breath, one of those cleansing breaths they talked about in the childbirth class. At least she was getting some use out of that class. She started to walk away from Troy and toward the stairs which led to the bedroom, glancing back over her shoulder, she said, "You sure can pick'em, ya know?"

"I picked you", he pointed out.

"You did not. I seduced you that night, remember?"

"I remember everything...", he quickly stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her just under her breasts while his lips went automatically to that little sweet spot on her neck just under her left ear.

"Ohh", Sharpay moaned in response. "You don't play fair. Here I am trying to start a fight with you and you start doing that."

Troy pulled away from her and blinked. "Fight? Why are we fighting?"

Sharpay smiled slyly and twisted around in his arms, as best she could. "Makeup sex, of course."

"Couldn't we just skip the fighting and go straight for making up?"

"I suppose that could be arranged." She took his hand and led him up the stairs.

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

I AM SO SORRY about how long this update has taken. I hope I still have readers out there. I went on vacation and then, my computer crashed and I spent about 5 days trying to recover the latest chapter. The computer has been shipped back to the factory, so now I'm competing with 3 other people for computer time. Anyway, here it is.

"...faster than a teenage boy could Google the latest nudie pics of Vanessa Hudgens."

Oops, she did it again... Yes, it's true. Have you heard? Miss Hudgens has leaked more questionable pictures of herself, suspiciously coinciding with the release of her newest movie.

The wonderful troypazash, one of my favorite reviewers, said she wanted a face to go with Donny, so I tried to describe him in the scene at the hospital. I'm shooting for Seth Green, the actor who played Oz on Buffy and Dr. Evil's son, Scott, in Austin Powers. I think he and Ryan would look good together.

I finally got to the 3-D ultrasound that I mentioned to a couple of people. As you know, I'm NOT a fan of Twilight. I was stupidly rooting for Jacob the whole time and then, the straw was that goofy name they stuck that poor baby with. I mean please … that kid will need serious counseling and a week-long series on Oprah or Dr Phil with that one.

I just got back from vacation and I have lots of ideas for a new story … just can't decide which one to do next.

Thanks for everyone's support and please keep reading and reviewing.


	17. The Hearing

_A High School Musical fanfiction  
by  
GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 17: The Hearing**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

"Wow, man. This is just like Law and Order", exclaimed Chad as he followed Troy and Sharpay into the courtroom. "Just look at all that cherry paneling. I bet this room alone cost more th..."

"Chad!", Taylor hissed at her husband as she came up behind him. "You promised you'd behave."

"Sorry." He dipped his soft curls in submission, seeking her begrudging forgiveness.

"Just sit down", she said to him and then, to Troy and Sharpay, added, "There's Martha", nodding to the smartly dressed brunette at the counselor's table. Martha was hardly recognizable as the girl they knew in high school; she had really trimmed down and her overzealous enthusiasm had grown into confident skill. "Sharpay will sit with her. Troy, you sit with Chad. It'll look better if she's there alone."

Sharpay turned around and gave Troy a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll be fine", she assured him when he gave her that concerned look with which she'd become so familiar.

Martha and Sharpay were quietly discussing some last minute details when Martha glanced up, looking behind Sharpay, and her face went gray. "Oh ... my ... God", she whispered in an unintentional Valley-girl accent.

Sharpay turned around and the first thing she noticed were a pair of five-inch spiked heels, from the newest line of Christian Louboutin in his trademark flesh-colored leather. They made Sharpay want to sigh aloud in envy until she followed the shoes up the long, dark legs to which they were attached and saw a short navy wool skirt, matching blazer, white blouse with a plunging neckline which bordered on slutty and finally the long, dark hair of … Gabriella Montez. Sharpay knew she had changed her name back to Montez as part of the divorce decree. Gabriella nodded slightly to Martha, completely ignored Sharpay and ushered Doreen to her seat at the counselor's table.

Before Sharpay could lean over to ask Martha what was going on, Troy was there between them, asking that exact question.

"Why's she here? Gabriella works for a Wall Street firm that specializes in creating barely-legal off-shore corporations, not EEOC complaints."

"No idea, Troy", Martha told him. "All of my correspondence has been with an attorney named David Webber, but I'll find out."

The judge entered and a hush fell over the courtroom as a very recognizable, distinguished blonde woman took her place at the bench.

"All rise for the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton!", rang the call to attention to all in the courtroom. Sharpay's eyebrows rose and she turned to look back at Taylor who just shrugged in response to Sharpay's silent inquiry. _Connections_, thought Sharpay. That explained how they got on the court's docket so quickly.

The entire country was surprised when three years earlier, former First Lady, former Senator, former presidential candidate, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran for the bar and became a sitting judge for New York's fifth district.

"Good afternoon, counselors", Judge Clinton said in a dismissive tone as she addressed the two attorneys standing behind the two long counsel tables which faced the judge's bench. She opened a folder and adjusted her half-moon reading glasses. "Now I've read the complaint and ..."

"May it please the court?", started Martha respectfully. "We request a sidebar before proceedings begin."

There were murmured rumblings heard through the courtroom.

"Order...", the judge warned. "Unusual, but granted. Both attorneys, please approach the bar."

The two attorneys quickly approached the judge's bench and Martha wasted no time in coming to her point. "Your Honor, we weren't informed of the change in counsel representation and feel that this particular attorney may let her personal prejudices cloud her judgment. My client is … involved with Ms. Montez's ex-husband."

Gabriella attacked immediately. "I think you should let me worry about my judgment, Martha. And as for your client, I thought you had better judgment than to get wrapped up in one of Sharpay Evans' devious little schemes."

"My client has a valid complaint which we will prove at this hearing."

"She's jerking you around just like she's doing with Troy."

"Ladies!", the judge said warningly. "If you wish to become embroiled in a catfight, you may do so after hours. Inside my courtroom you will conduct yourselves in a matter befitting officers of said court. Do I make myself clear?" Her voice dropped so that only the two attorneys could hear her. Every person in the gallery had their eyes and ears riveted to the bench, trying their best to hear what was being said between the two women.

"Yes, ma'am", they both murmured.

"I received notification of the change in representation this morning. I'm sure it was an oversight that you weren't informed, Ms. Cox. Correct, Ms. Montez?"

Gabriella smiled in a deceptively sweet manner.

Addressing Martha, Judge Clinton continued, "Mr. Webber was unexpectedly called out of town for a family emergency and Ms. Montez was gracious enough to pinch-hit for him. Is everyone clear on that?" She paused for the expected confirming nods. "And Ms. Montez... After today, you will dress more appropriately for my courtroom." She studied Gabriella over the lenses of her reading classes with disdain. "You must be confusing me with my ex-husband, Bill. Plunging necklines and stiletto heels do not impress me, dear."

"Yes, ma'am", Gabriella mumbled and both attorneys went back to their seats.

Addressing the entire courtroom, Judge Clinton said, "Once more from the top... I've already read your complaint and as I understand it Ms. Evans is seeking reinstatement in her position as a senior manager at Noble Model Management. She previously held this position for approximately three years and was recently demoted to a junior manager. Is that correct?"

"Yes, your Honor", replied Martha. "It is."

"Since this is a hearing and not a criminal trial we can afford to be a little more informal in our proceedings. So why don't you tell us your client's side of things, Ms. Cox?"

"Of course." Martha shuffled her papers in an efficient manner, glanced over at Sharpay and graced her with a small smile and then started. "Your honor, this case is about subtleties. Sharpay Evans was not fired; nor has she lost income. However, she has definitely lost prestige in her career field and in the extremely competitive work in which she works, this will be devastating to her future in the modeling industry. At the height of her career, her job responsibilities were reduced. Two months ago, Sharpay Evans was the manager of the firm's top model, Giselle Snow, an employee, by the way, whom Ms. Evans discovered and brought to New York two years ago. Because of a simple misunderstanding my client was demoted to a starting level manager, a position for which she has already served her time. And as we will show, the owner of Noble Model Management has an unhealthy prejudice against pregnant employees and the only reason Sharpay was demoted was because of her pregnancy, not her job performance."

Doreen harrumphed in her seat and Gabriella quickly silenced her.

"Is there some problem, Ms. Montez?", the judge asked with feigned casualness.

"No, ma'am."

"Then, please control your client or she will be made to leave my courtroom."

"Of course, your Honor. It won't happen again."

The judge nodded sternly and then addressed Martha. "What exactly happened Ms. Cox?"

Martha proceeded to explain in detail how Sharpay was called away to Vermont for her brother's wedding. She also explained that an unexpected snow storm delayed their return by one day and when Sharpay walked into the office on Tuesday she was told she had been demoted.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

During the lunch break, Martha, Troy, and Sharpay had food brought in and spent the hour discussing the case and doing final preparation for anything that might come up during the afternoon session where Gabriella would rebut the case. Martha was in good spirits and felt like things were going very well.

On their way back into the courtroom, Sharpay gave Troy a peck on the cheek and headed off to the closest restroom. She vaguely acknowledged Taylor and Chad as she passed and noticed that they both had big smiles on their faces, obviously pleased with the morning's proceedings.

After relieving her full and compressed bladder, Sharpay paused at the mirror to check for any smudges to her makeup. She was lightly running her fingers through her hair when she heard a familiar, but unwanted voice.

"I don't know why you're trying so hard. He's only with you because of the baby; you could wear a paper bag over your head and Troy wouldn't care."

Sharpay glanced up and saw Gabriella's reflection in the mirror and took another one of those long cleansing breaths before replying. It was amazing how often that child birth class came in handy and she hadn't even had the baby yet. "Look Gabriella, I'm really not in a mood to start a fight with you. I just want my job back."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have got yourself knocked up", Gabriella spat.

"You know ... Gabby ... I never intended on ever having children. This...", Sharpay indicated her very fecund body, "was obviously never planned." A small smile came to her lips as she continued. "But, it's the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me ... because of the experience itself and ... the fact that it gave me Troy. You're absolutely right and trust me, I _never_ thought I'd ever being saying that to you. But if I wasn't pregnant, Troy and I would never be together ... which would be a real shame because it turned out that we really needed each other. We were both soooo lonely." Sudden anger, which hadn't reared its ugly head since her days of being the 'mad bitch from hell', welled up inside her. "How could you have let that wonderful man become so incredibly lonely?" And then, those irritating hormones decided to pop up, causing her eyes welled up with tears. "Damn it", she said to herself, "Not now!"

"He was plenty happy with me! I'm the one who dumped him, remember?", Gabriella screeched as she stepped into Sharpay's personal space and towered over her due to those gorgeous designer shoes.

Sharpay's mood instantly altered and she went on the offensive. "Exactly...", Sharpay stated calmly as she stepped forward and accidentally stepped on Gabriella's shoe. Neither of them seemed to notice since the shoe ended in a very sharp point and her toes stopped a full inch from the end. "... so why the hell are you bothering me ... AND ...", she pointed her finger in the attorney's face, "why are you even involved in this case? Why do you give a rat's ass whether I was demoted or not?"

Gabriella's voice was an cold as ice when she answered, "Because you have what I don't. You have Troy and you have ...", her voice dropped to a whisper, "a baby."

Compassion, fueled by abnormally large levels of progesterone and estrogen, caused Sharpay's expression to soften and she moved to place a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder. Gabriella reacted violently and jerked away from Sharpay.

"I don't want your sympa---", Gabriella started to say, until Sharpay's foot, which was still on top of Gabriella's shoe, prevented her from easily backing away from the surprised blonde. Instead she stumbled backwards and the heel of her trapped foot snapped off as Gabriella landed in grand splendor directly on her rear end, the shiny red soles of her Louboutins flashing in the fluorescent lights.

"Oh!", Sharpay gasped as she awkwardly bent down to pick up the broken heel.

"Sss-stay away from me!" Gabriella quickly shoved herself away from Sharpay and stood unsteadily to lean against the wall. "Just stay away."

_Gladly_, thought Sharpay as she watched Gabriella hobble out of the restroom. It wasn't until the door had shut that she realized she was still holding the broken heel in her hand.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Hey", Martha greeted Sharpay as she slid quickly into her seat. "Where have you been?"

"I'll tell you later", Sharpay replied cryptically as she placed the heel on the long table in front of them.

Their attention was drawn to an odd clip-clop, clip-clop sound approaching from the entrance to the courtroom behind them. Martha looked over to see Gabriella hobble past on her one broken heel, reminiscent of a child walking along the road with one foot on the sidewalk and one foot in the road with an awkward up/down gate. Sharpay didn't bother to look up; instead, she idly spun the missing heel around in her hands as a secret smile graced her lips.

After the obligatory courtroom etiquette when the judge entered, everyone sat down with the exception of Gabriella. She remained standing at the counselor's table and Sharpay realized immediately that Gabriella had stepped out of her shoes and was standing, facing the bench in her bare feet. She was definitely five inches shorter than she was before lunch. And she was obviously nervous; Sharpay assumed that creating off-shore corporations to hide huge semi-legal fortunes didn't involve a lot of public speaking.

Clearing her throat for a third time, Gabriella began. "Sharpay Michelle Evans, star of over 17 school productions, is a self-proclaimed drama queen. As such..."

Martha quickly shot to her feet. "Objection! She's attacking the personal character of my client."

"Your honor, the personal character of her client is the primary focus of this hearing … as it relates to her job performance, of course."

The judge looked thoughtful before replying, "Ms Evans' character must be laid open for public examination … if … it bares directly with the case. You should be aware of that, Ms. Cox. However, it must be relevant. Is that clear, Ms. Montez?"

"Yes, your Honor."

"Then, objection overruled", pronounced Judge Clinton with a light tap of her gavel.

Gabriella shuffled her papers before finding her spot again. She quickly filtered through her notes to weed out any material the judge might find objectionable.

"As I was saying, Ms. Evans has a history of seeking the spotlight … of _wanting it all_ … even if she doesn't deserve it. Women are under the assumption that because of The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, a pregnant woman cannot be fired, demoted, or laid off. As you know, your Honor, that simply isn't the case. PDA doesn't protect women for poor job performance as is the case with Ms. Evans. Whether her poor job performance was motivated or caused by her pregnancy is irrelevant. A vital part of her job as a personal manager is to be available during weekends for ferrying clients or potential clients to various destinations. Such an event happened on the infamous ski weekend."

"Yes, yes...", the judge interrupted. "Ms. Cox has already explained that to us. So are you saying that Ms. Evans was required to be on call 24/7? Even the President of the United States is allowed an occasional day off; I should know."

Gabriella forced a chuckle at the judge's joke. "Of course not, your Honor. The senior managers are on-call, according to a set schedule."

"And it was Ms. Evans' turn, I take it?"

"Actually, it wasn't. However, the on-call manager was out of town on a family emergency."

"So I assume that the _on-call _manager called Ms. Evans to let her know that she was now _on-call_?"

Gabriella raised an eyebrow and shot a quick, worried look at Doreen, sitting to her right. "Unfortunately, no. The on-call manager left without informing Shar... Ms. Evans of the emergency."

"Then, how was she supposed to know, Ms. Montez? Through her latent psychic abilities?" Hilary sighed. She was beginning to feel like Judge Judy.

Gabriella chuckled again, so loudly that she noticed the judge wince and she quickly shut her mouth. "Of course not, your Honor, but that still doesn't lessen her responsibilities in this matter. Even if the on-call manager had called, she wouldn't have known because she forgot her phone. This was just another example of her shirking her responsibilities."

"One question...", Hilary posed. "What happened to the other manager?"

"Other manager?"

"The on-call manager... The one who left without contacting Ms. Evans."

"I don't understand."

"Was the other manager demoted?" She really was Judge Judy now.

"Ummm....", Gabriella looked lost for a second and started frantically shuffling her papers searching for some answer to the judge's question. "I don't know, ma'am."

Judge Clinton sighed loudly, amplified by the microphone on the bench. "You know what? I'm going to sleep on this one. I've heard your testimony; I have all the sworn statements from those involved. Be prepared to have your witnesses ready to testify." With the swift slam of her gavel she pronounced, "Court dismissed until tomorrow morning at 9AM."

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

Later that night, Troy walked into the bathroom to find Sharpay on her hands and knees, scrubbing out the toilet in the master bathroom.

"Aren't you supposed to be preparing for the trial?"

"Oh, I am", Sharpay retorted sarcastically. "While I'm scrubbing out this filthy commode, I'm mentally preparing myself for a courtroom battle with your ex-wife."

Troy mumbled something about nesting and hormones as he walked out of the bathroom. Luckily, he was fast enough to avoid the flying toilet brush that ricocheted off the door.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

The next day's hearing opened without incident due in part to the fact that the attorneys were appropriately dressed and there had been no last minute substitutes.

"Alright", started Judge Clinton. She studied the papers in her hand as she addressed the courtroom without looking up. "I've reread all the affidavits and pleadings in the case and I'd like to hear from some actual people now. Would Doreen Wadsworth Remington please come forward?" She looked toward the table where Doreen was sitting and made eye contact with her.

Doreen rose slowly and took the seat next to the judge. She wore a coral-pink silk pant suit which complemented her complexion perfectly and a sedate string of matinee-length pearls. The color and luster of the pearls coordinated beautifully with her pearl colored sling-back Dior shoes. Those shoes were the most eye-catching item of Doreen's ensemble with five-inch heels on a one-inch high platform. She definitely adhered to the belief that the height of your shoes showed your level of achievement.

"Now, Mrs. Remington. I just had a few questions to clear up before ending this thing, okay?" The judge's tone was and light and conversational as if she was chatting with Doreen over a cup of coffee.

"That's fine." Doreen relaxed a little.

"Good. Now about this, as yet unnamed, _on-call _manager... What's this person's name and what happened to him or her?"

"Oh." Doreen seemed genuinely surprised that anyone would care about that. It was such a minor detail. "Well... let's see... that was Marcia Baker --- she handles our athletic models … you know Runner's World, Outdoor... things like that."

"Right." Judge Clinton's voice was sharp; gone was the coffee chatter; now was the time for serious courtroom drama. "Was she fired?"

"Oh, no. She was called out of town on a family emergency. That would be..."

"But she didn't inform her alternate, did she?" Doreen shook her head. "Did she inform you?" Doreen shook her head again. "Then why wasn't she punished if she committed the same grievance as Ms. Evans?"

Doreen's hackles were raised and she snapped back at the judge. "Marcia has worked for me for over five years. She's single, unmarried, unattached and dedicated to her job. Plus! She never lied to me!"

"And Sharpay Evans did?"

"Absolutely! She promised that she would remain devoted to her career and not let her relationship with … with that … man or the fact that she was having a baby interfere with her job. I demoted her because she betrayed my trust. Plus... at the time, I thought she was one who'd gotten married."

"But she didn't. It was her brother's wedding, correct?"

"I didn't know that at the time and when I found out... well, the die had been cast. I couldn't back down in front of my employees. Surely, as a woman in a position of authority, your Honor, you can understand my position." Doreen sat back; secure in the belief that she had explained herself well.

The judge let out a huff of disdain. "Okay. Well, I don't think I'll need to speak to anyone else." Doreen smiled in anticipation of Judge Clinton's next words. "Sharpay Evans will be reinstated to her previous position, although why she'd choose to work for this woman is beyond me. I find her conduct in this instance to be malicious and in reckless disregard of Ms. Evans' rights. Therefore, Noble Model Management will pay Ms. Evans punitive damages in the amount of $25,000. Court is adjourned." The sound of the gavel was drowned by the cheerful sounds of celebration on the plaintiff's side of the aisle. Troy rushed forward and swept Sharpay into a hug.

"After-party at our house. You're all invited!", an exuberant Troy announced to everyone.

Sharpay looked over to defendant table where Gabriella was standing alone, packing up her briefcase. Doreen was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, I ... um ... didn't get a chance to give this back to you yesterday." She offered out the Louboutin heel on her open palm.

Gabriella looked surprised to see it. "Oh. Thanks." Her voice was quiet, subdued.

"No problem. There's a great shoe repair place off 5th Avenue that can reattach it. I'll have Troy get the name to you."

"Sure. Thanks." Sharpay started to walk away until Gabriella said one more thing. "If our side hadn't lost, would I have ever seen this heel again?"

"Winner's prerogative... I don't have to answer that question." Sharpay caught up with Troy and they left the courtroom arm-in-arm.

Gabriella threw the heel into her briefcase and snapped it shut.

**TBC**

Author's Notes:

I am soooo sorry it's taken me soooo long to update. Life has been crazy and I found this to be a particularly difficult chapter to write. That courtroom stuff was like pulling teeth to get it out of me.

Hopefully the pace will pick up from here on. And hopefully I still have some readers out there.

HELLOOOOOO!!!! *(*(echoes in the empty vastness of nothingness)*)*

Please R&R to let me know you're still there. Thanks


	18. Special Note

This is just a note to let you know that completely screwed up the posting of chapter 17.

I've fixed it now, so please read it again and pretend that that other chapter never happened.

Thanks,

j


	19. Fights, Stubble, and Taxi Rides

_A High School Musical fanfiction  
by  
GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 18: Fights, Stubble, and Taxi Rides**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

The after party was a roaring success, if a bit wild. Maybe that was to be expected since so many of the guests were people they'd known from high school: Ryan (and Donny, of course), Kelsi (and her significant), Taylor and Chad, Martha and Jason. Actually that had been the biggest surprise of the night. First, they found out that Jason was living in New York; second, they found out that Jason and Martha were dating; and finally, what turned out to be the coup de grâce of the evening, Jason asked Martha to marry him right in the middle of the Cupid Shuffle.

She was ecstatic and immediately screamed yes and jumped into his arms to the thrilled delight of every female in the house … with the very notable exception of Sharpay Evans.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Wow, that was some party, wasn't it?", Troy swept around the kitchen picking up scattered Solo cups and paper plates, talking as he went.

"I suppose", Sharpay said, noncommittally.

He immediately sensed something was wrong. Sharpay had been in an incredible mood all night. Calling it an After-Party had been a stroke of genius because that's exactly how Sharpay had behaved. She'd glided around the room like it was opening night at her first Broadway production. But now that they were alone, he noticed that her mood had taken a sudden downturn.

"Something wrong?", Troy asked pensively.

He wanted to know … and he didn't. Sometimes it was better to just let her stew for awhile.

"Nothing...", she answered without looking at him. "Wasn't it a surprise? The … um … wedding proposal right in the middle of the party."

"Yeah, I didn't even know they were dating. Hell, I didn't even know Jason lived on this side of the country."

Sharpay shrugged and hefted herself out of the chair, one hand on her rounded belly, the other on the small of her back. As she waddled toward him, Troy saw that her eyes were red-rimmed like she'd been crying. When had that happened?

"Sharpay? What's wrong?" He stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Nothing's wrong", she snapped and then tried to pass by him again. "I have to pee, Troy. Get out of my way." Tears started flowing and she angrily batted away Troy's hand as he moved to brush them away.

"Why are you crying?", he asked.

"Troy, I'm going to pee in my pants. Move out of the way!"

He stepped aside and allowed her access to the downstairs bathroom, but he waited outside the door. Over ten minutes passed before she reemerged. She'd stopped crying, but her eyes were still puffy. This was way beyond him; Troy had no idea what the problem was.

Before he could say anything, she announced, "Troy, please, I'm fine."

He followed her into the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of milk. "You were crying. Is something wrong?", he asked gently.

She shook her head, but said nothing. She was obviously lying. Something was wrong.

"Sharpay..."

"Martha's pregnant", she blurted out before he could say more.

"Oh..."

"That's why they're getting married", her voice cracked and more tears began to fall and she quickly ran out of the room and up the stairs to their bedroom.

Fuck. This wasn't good. He thought they had an understanding, even though they had never voiced it. He thought she felt the same way he did. Apparently, she didn't.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Troy waited until he was sure Sharpay was asleep before he crept into the bedroom. Like Chad had so wisely intoned back in high school with advice about women, "Too much drama, man." She was lying on her side, facing away from him and he quietly undressed down to his boxers and slipped into bed.

Unfortunately, she was a better actress than he realized. "So what do you think?"

_Okay drama, here I come_, thought Troy and he plunged head-first into the turmoil which was Sharpay.

"Is that what you want _us_ to do?" Troy asked her, continuing their conversation from downstairs.

"What?" She looked over her shoulder at him. Troy wasn't touching her, but he could sense that her whole body had stiffened.

"Do you want to get married?" He pushed himself up on his elbow to look at her, but she quickly looked in the other direction and moved further away from him.

"Why would you say that?", Sharpay demanded as they entered into their first real argument as a couple.

"You said that Martha and Jason were getting married because she's pregnant, so I thought ..."

"You think I want to get married just because they are."

"You were crying …"

"What the hell has that got to do with getting married. I'm pregnant Troy. My hormones are totally out of whack ...just because I'm crying you think I want to get married?"

"I just thought ..."

"Well, you thought wrong!"

During their first exchange Troy tried to remain calm; he was getting use to the moodiness that she experienced from time to time. However, there was something in the tone of her voice as she spit out her last comment, that made him snap right back at her.

"Fine … you don't want to get married?"

"That's what I said."

"It's just … we've never really talked about it, you know? A-and obviously we should've had this conversation a long time ago. It's just … I don't believe we need some piece of paper to prove to the world that we loved each other."

"I agree."

"Good."

"So why are you bringing this up? Just because Martha and Jason think they have to get married because she's pregnant doesn't mean we have to. We agree … right? We both agree that getting married isn't necessary …. Troy? Did you hear me?"

"Yes … yes loud and clear … marriage is not necessary."

"Well, then there's nothing to discuss."

"Apparently not," he muttered as she crawled out of bed. "Where are you going?"

"I have to pee, dammit … if that's okay with you."

And that should have settled everything. Except that it didn't.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Their relationship became more and more strained as the days drew on. Troy couldn't seem to do anything right.

If he tried to massage her sore feet, she yelled at him and told him to quit patronizing her.

If he suggested that she quit working for Doreen since the atmosphere at work was so volatile, she accused him of calling her a quitter.

If he asked how her day was, she yelled at him and told him to quit being so nosy.

If he didn't ask how her day was, she started crying and yelled at him for not caring about her.

Troy knew he loved her, but he didn't know how much more of this he could take. All he knew was that it all started with that stupid proposal in the middle of his living room. This was all Jason's fault.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Troy walked into the apartment and was surprised to smell something delicious, but unidentifiable coming from the kitchen. Sharpay hadn't attempted to cook him anything in about a month. Maybe she was finally over … whatever it was that was bothering her.

However to his surprise, instead of Sharpay wearing that cute little pink sparkly apron of hers, when he walked into the kitchen, he found Donny wearing Sharpay's cute little pink sparkly apron.

Donny held a large wooden spoon in his hand and he was stirring some sort of sauce over a low flame on the stove. "Oh, Troy! You're here just in time."

"Cool, what's for dinner?" It was sort of weird to find your brother-in-law (of sorts) in your kitchen, but hey, he was hungry.

"What?", Donny asked in obvious confusion. "Oh, this? No, this was just to give me something to do. I cook when I'm nervous. Some people clean, some eat, … I cook." Glancing up to the loft above them, he continued in a more serious tone. "You'd better get up there. I don't think Ryan can handle her." There was no need to say who _her_ was.

Troy looked reluctant. "Well, you see, Donny. She hasn't exactly been...", but before he could finish they were interrupted by the sounds of a wail, followed by a crash, and then a cursing voice spewing profanity at the first wailing voice. Troy sighed heavily. "I guess I'd better go on up."

"Please...", Donny said plaintively.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Troy passed Ryan coming down the stairs. He was moving as if the hounds of hell were on his heels … and they were, sort of. Following immediately after Ryan were Betty and Boi; the dogs looked as terrified as the human.

"Whoa, Ryan", Troy said calmly. "Slow down; tell me what's going on."

"Sharpay … she's crazy." He took a deep breath and tried to continue. "Look, I know she's my sister and all, and I'm not supposed to like women, but … there is no way I'm doing what she wants me to do. I'll be downstairs, if you need me, but don't need me, okay?"

"Sure." Although he wasn't sure about anything right now.

The bedroom was deserted and Troy walked toward the master bathroom where he could hear muffled sobs through the partially opened door. He found Sharpay sitting on the closed toilet seat wearing only her bra and panties. She had one leg propped up on the side of the bathtub. She was muttering a few half-hearted curses about Ryan and sniffling up the snot that was slowing dripping out of her nose as it mingled with the tears flowing from her eyes. She looked like she was trying to touch her toes, but the massive bulge of the baby was hampering her. Even in her frazzled state, Troy took an moment to take in how incredibly beautiful she looked to him. And seeing her skin stretched to hold and keep safe their child, made him love her even more. The recent awkwardness between the two drained away and Troy forgot all about their argument and only remembered how much he loved her.

"Sharpay?", Troy asked tentatively. "What's the matter, baby?"

"Oh, Troy....", her voice quivered and the tears started in earnest. "I'm so glad you're here."

_Well, this was definitely a change for the better_, he thought. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm too big!!", she wailed. "I-I c-can't reach my ankles and Ryan wouldn't help."

Troy knelt down next to her and took her hands in his, lovingly. "It's okay, honey. I'll do whatever you want."

Suddenly, she stiffened and he thought he'd overstepped that invisible and ever-shifting boundary of hers. After about 15 seconds, however, she let out a breath and reached over to her left, coming back with a can of shaving cream and a pink razor.

"Will you shave my legs for me?" She smiled her most beguiling smile which Troy found even cuter since her nose was red and she was still sniffling at the end of every third word.

Then it hit him what she'd asked.

"What? You've got to be kidding. Why on earth do you need your legs shaved now?" He didn't mean to sound angry, but he thought after everything else, this was the most ridiculous request he'd heard yet.

Luckily anger was easier to deal with than tears so Sharpay chose anger or maybe it chose her. Troy wasn't actually sure how that all worked.

"Because... damnit! I'm having your baby and it's the least you can do."

"This is ridiculous, Sharpay. Can't you just go get waxed or whatever tomorrow? Isn't that what you usually do?" Troy stood up now and paced to the other side of the room, wanting some distance between him and this infuriating woman whom he loved.

She replied through gritted teeth. "I can't get my legs waxed tomorrow, you idiot! Tomorrow, I'm going to be in the hospital giving birth to your baby! Or – or maybe tonight. Who knows how long these things take?"

"What?!" Troy sprang immediately back to her side. "Y-you're in labor? Oh, Sharpay..."

"Didn't I say that before? No? Well, yeah. I'm in labor. It's pretty early still, but it's starting to become uncomfortable. And I just CAN'T go to the hospital with prickly stubble on my legs. That's disgusting."

Troy couldn't help but smile. "God, I love you, Sharpay. You're so … you."

"Well, yeah... So will you shave my legs … or should I try Donny?" She held up the razor and shaving cream again.

"Of course, I will, but I have no idea how to shave a woman's legs."

"I can't be that different from shaving your own face. Knees are sort of like chins, right?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Ryan jumped up from the table so quickly that his seat fell over with a loud bang on the hard wood floor. "Are you done?", he asked nervously as Troy led Sharpay down the stairs with one arm around her and the other carrying her pink Louis Vuitton travel bag.

"We're done", she announced, her tone subdued.

"And ready to go", added Troy holding up the bag for them to see.

"Great! I'll get my bike."

"Why?", Sharpay asked slowly as a lead-in for some logical explanation from her less-than-logical brother.

"To give you a ride to the hospital, of course."

"I'm not riding to the hospital on a Vespa." She told him this calmly, but with great authority while marching across the room toward the elevator. Pausing just before pushing the button, she turned back to Ryan. "Well, has anyone thought to call for a taxi?"

Donny popped up like Jack-in-the-Box. "I'll do it." He had his cellphone out before he'd finished the statement. After being Sharpay's personal assistant for two years, it came as little surprise that he would have the number for a taxi service stored in his Blackberry.

"Good, we'll wait outside. And you..." Sharpay turned to Donny. "... stay here and take care of the dogs. I think something's wrong with Betty; she's been moping around all day and she's being really bitchy to Boi."

Troy rolled his eyes while standing safely behind her. He knew just how Boi felt.

Before leaving, Troy pulled Ryan aside and whispered something into his ear which made the short blonde man's eyes grow wide with fear. From where Sharpay stood impatiently in the open elevator, she heard Ryan exclaim, "Are you sure you want to do that?" Troy nodded emphatically yes and ran over to join Sharpay.

"Alright then", called Ryan. "I'll meet you guys at the hospital."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

The taxi was waiting for them on the curb and Troy helped Sharpay settle in before running around to the other side and sliding in next to her.

The driver was a middle eastern man with a long gray beard and a twisted turban signifying that he was a devout Sikh. Troy leaned forward and told the man to take them to Roosevelt Hospital and the cab lurched forward into traffic. Settling back in the seat Troy took Sharpay's hand and gave her a shaky smile.

"You look pale", Sharpay observed, concern lacing her voice. "You're not going to throw up, are you?"

"No, I'm fine; just nervous. I've never done this before."

Neither of them noticed the driver's head snap up as he studied them with narrowed eyes through the rear-view mirror.

"Like I have", she scoffed back at him, but her words held no rancor and she lovingly squeezed his hand and leaned into his side.

Troy, in turn, placed his free hand on her belly and relaxed amidst the cacophony of traffic noise from a typical early spring night in New York City.

"He's quiet --- not kicking much", Troy observed.

"_She's_ saving _her_ strength."

"You know I don't really care if our baby is a boy or a girl, right?"

"I know", she replied sagely. "And I don't really care either; as long as..."

"...it's healthy", they both finished together.

Sharpay drew back her head to look at him and Troy lowered his mouth to hers to join in a long, deep kiss, fully intending to reaffirm his love for this woman through this singular act.

"I'm sorry … about the last few weeks ...", Sharpay said when they'd finally pulled apart.

Troy leaned his forehead into hers and inhaled the combination of the faintly peach-like scent of her hair, mixed with the cocoa butter which he had rubbed on her legs after shaving them.

"It's just been crazy at work", she continued. "Even though I'm working with Gisele again, I'm not sure how much longer I can take working for Doreen."

"You won't need to worry about that for a while. And then, when you're ready to go back to work, maybe..." He stopped suddenly when he felt, rather than saw, Sharpay tense. His hand was still resting on her stomach and he felt it grow hard as a contraction started to build within her body. While still marveling at this, Troy suddenly became aware of what he wasn't feeling anymore --- he wasn't feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. He reluctantly pulled his eyes away from her belly and looked up to find Sharpay sitting rigidly stiff with her eyes squeezed shut, obviously holding her breath.

"No, Sharpay!", he shouted a little too loudly. "You're not supposed to hold your breath. Don't you remember our class?"

She opened her eyes and glared to him as she took in a deep breath. Slowly she began to relax and finally slumped back into seat, boneless.

"That was the worst one yet", she said.

"I'm so proud of you, but just think how great it'll be when you hold our daughter in your arms for the first time."

A slow smile appeared on her lips. "Daughter? So you think I'm right?"

Troy cleared his throat before responding. "I _always_ think you're right."

"You're learning, Bolton; you're learning..."

"Hey, a thought just occurred to me. I'm supposed to be timing these contractions." He looked down at his watch. "So when did that last one start?"

Before Sharpay could answer, they were both almost thrown to the floor from the jolt of the taxi slamming on its breaks and coming to a complete stop. Blaring horns started sounding immediately from behind them.

Troy's first concern was Sharpay's safety. "Are you alright?"

Once again before she could answer, the taxi driver interrupted her by bellowing into the backseat. "Get out of my cab!"

Troy was stunned and he immediately thought that they must be in some sort of danger sitting here in the taxi. "What's happening?", he asked apprehensively.

"She will not be having a baby here in my auto-mobile", the cabdriver explained in a high-pitched nasal voice, "getting it dirty, what with bodily fluids all over my clean upholstery. It will not happen. I must insist you exit now."

"That's crazy! You can't kick us out." Troy was forced to shout over the sound of irate motorists who hoped that the louder and more often they hammered down on their car horns, the more quickly the taxi would start moving.

In an uncharacteristically calm voice, Sharpay gently suggested they get out. "This isn't getting us anywhere. Let's just get another cab. There's lots of them out tonight, okay?"

"Wait! Wait! You have not paid your fare! Come back!", the old man shouted at them as Troy and Sharpay walked away.

She was right and they quickly found another taxi after walking less than 20 yards up the street. A yellow minivan taxi pulled up in front of them and Troy reached to open the sliding door, but Sharpay laid a hand on his arm stopping him.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Something seems weirdly familiar about this taxi. Don't you think something's weird about it?"

"No", he said curtly. "What I think is weird is that you obviously want to have this baby out here on the sidewalk."

After getting settled into the new cab, a gruff voice ask for their destination. Troy told the driver and noticed to his relief that, while the interior of the vehicle wasn't dirty, it also wasn't as pristine as the previous one. Maybe this cabdriver wasn't a clean-freak. Suddenly the ceiling of the minivan lit up in a flashing checkerboard pattern which unfortunately coincided with another contraction and a resultant groan from Sharpay.

"Welcome to the Ca$h Cab. It's the only game show that takes place right here in this taxi."

Both of their heads flew up in unison to see Ben Bailey looking back at them from the driver's seat.

"You've got to be kidding", Troy commented in disbelief.

Ignoring him, Bailey continued with his spiel. "Okay, here's how it's gonna work. I'm gonna ask you guys some general knowledge questions. They're gonna start off easy and gradually get harder."

Sharpay let out a sigh as the contraction ended. Veering off script, he commented, "Don't worry; they're not that hard."

"Hey man! My girlfriend's in labor! Just take us to the hospital."

"No prob. If you keep answering the questions correctly, you can stay in the cab; but if you get three wrong, I'm gonna have to pull over and kick ya out."

"Are you even listening to me?", Troy asked the oblivious man.

"So you wanna play?", he asked cheerfully.

"Hell, no!", shouted Troy angrily.

"Yes!", countermanded Sharpay. She roughly pulled Troy over to her. "I love this show. We _have_ to play and besides... we've already been kicked out of one cab, so unless you want me to have this baby out there on the sidewalk like you said, shut up and play his stupid game." She released the collar of his shirt and pushed him away from her as another contraction started to build. Hadn't the last one just ended?, Troy thought to himself.

Without further discussion, Troy turned back to the driver. "We're ready to play."

**TBC**

Yay!!! This one was much faster without all that law crap to write about.

Please reward me to the quick (relatively) update and leave a lovely review.

Thanks


	20. Cash Cab

_A High School Musical fanfiction  
by  
GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 19: Cash Cab**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

"Let's take a ride in the Cash Cab", Ben Bailey said as he pulled the minivan into traffic. "Here we go, so what are your names?" His tone was very light and conversational as he somehow managed to carry on a seemingly normal conversation with his two passengers and navigate the crowded streets of New York City at the same time.

Sharpay took a deep breath. Today had been one of the most stressful she had experienced in past six months. What had started out as slightly nauseating cramps had grown into full blown and very intense contractions. However, despite all this, she knew exactly where she was … she was on television. Therefore, Sharpay flashed him her very best 'see my name in lights' smile and said brightly, "My name is Sharpay." She turned irritatingly to Troy when he missed his cue.

"Ummm, I'm Troy", Troy said slowing and carefully, still not quite believing what they were about to do.

Bailey's eyes shot up in recognition. "Troy? Oh my God, man! You're Troy Bolton! Hey, man. I never missed your show which is really embarrassing since it comes on at the same time as mine. Oh, I've got to ask you this." The cab driver/host was becoming more and more excited. "What was it like interviewing Shaq? He's like … the greatest player in ..."

"Excuse me!", Sharpay interrupted. "Aren't we supposed to be playing a game here?" Troy didn't even want to be here and now he was getting all the attention. This really pissed her off.

"Oh, sure honey. Sorry about that." He smiled a Sharpay in the rear-view mirror and glanced back at Troy. "This your wife?"

"Uh, no", Troy answered, a little nervously. "She's my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? Man, she's about ready to pop. Aren't you going to do right by her?"

"Hello?", Sharpay exclaimed sarcastically. "Gameshow here, people!"

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. Anyway, you guys are heading over to Roosevelt Hospital. What? Are you going to have that baby tonight?" He asked jokingly.

"Yes", they both answered simultaneously.

"You're kidding … because _I_ was kidding."

"No", Troy answered calmly. "She's in labor."

"Shit!", Bailey exclaimed. "Don't worry about that. They'll bleep it out later. A baby. That's cool. Really, it is and you could probably use a little cash then, right?" Sharpay nodded excitedly. Troy looked slightly ill. Bailey looked down at the GPS display. "It looks like we've got a 31 block ride, so let's get started. These first questions are worth $50 a piece. Here's your first one; you guys ready?"

"Yes." "Yep."

"Alright, here we go … Made with espresso, milk and foam, what caffeinated Italian drink takes its name from an order of Franciscan friars?"

Sharpay smiled. "Cappuccino", she said confidently.

"Cappuccino", Troy echoed, looking at the driver. Troy, due to his position on the right side of the van, was designated as the official answer-giver. It was easier for Ben to make eye contact with him; plus the camera angle was better.

"Cappuccino is correct and you're on the board with 50 bucks."

"Yes!", exclaimed Sharpay with a big grin on her face. Even Troy smiled a little as the ceiling lit up in celebration with her.

"You're one for one, so let's go two for two. A bargain on the streets of Bangkok... abdominoplasti is a cosmetic procedure better known by what alliterative name?"

"That would be a tummy tuck, Ben", Sharpay answered casually as she started to cross her legs and then stopped as she realized she couldn't physically do that anymore since the baby had dropped five days ago in preparation for delivery. She smiled over at Troy and regretted that he was the one sitting in the 'hot-seat'. She raised her eyebrows at him, motioning for him to answer.

"Oh right, our answer is tummy tuck."

"Tummy tuck is correct. Man, you are lucky to have her. You're two for two and have earned $100 and you still have two shout-outs available so don't forget about that."

The next few questions passed quickly with only one miss and they were now up to $350. They were up to their third $100 question and had only 11 blocks to go.

"Here's your final $100 question. Sharing its name with a Spanish painter, what grocery store brand claims to be the premier source of authentic Latino cuisine?"

Troy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not because he didn't know the answer, but because he did know it. He looked over cautiously to Sharpay to gauge her knowledge of this one. Maybe he wouldn't have to answer it.

"I have no idea. Esperanza did all the cooking in our house, but I never looked at the brand names."

Troy took a deep breath. "It's Goya, Ben."

"That's correct. Pretty obscure question. How'd you know that one?"

"Well, I'm from New Mexico." And he left it at that, but the look on Sharpay's face told him that she knew exactly why he knew that answer. He leaned over to try to explain. "It's was Gabriella's mother, Sharpay. Maria's a great cook, Gabriella couldn't boil water."

That seemed to placate her and she relaxed a little. She, at least, could manage to heat up water.

"So that brings you up to $450 and now we're up to our next level of question at $200 each, so the questions are more challenging. Here we go... Poultry fat served at room temperature --- what Jewish substitute for butter is now a synonym for sentimentality?"

"Schmaltz." Once again it was Sharpay with the answer.

Troy gave her an incredulously look.

She shrugged. "What? I'm Jewish."

"You are? Since when?"

"Since for_ever_", she snapped back at him. "And why does it matter?"

"It doesn't", Troy answered, somewhat defensively. "I just thought I knew everything there was to know about you, is all."

"Can we get back to the game now?", Bailey asked, annoyed.

"Sorry... our answer is schmaltz.", Troy said sheepishly. He didn't like having these personal discussions in front of strangers, let alone a television audience.

"You're right. And that brings your total up to $650."

Sharpay shut her eyes and gripped the leather armrests of her seat as she felt the beginnings of an incredibly strong contraction take hold.

"Okay, here's the next question. A woman kills her boyfriend by accident. She then seeks fame and fortune. What Broadway play does this describe?" Bailey glanced up into the rearview mirror, waiting for their answer.

Troy automatically looked to Sharpay. Broadway was her specialty. Realizing what was happening, he reached over to hold her hand and she grabbed onto it with such gusto that it felt like his fingers were trapped in a vise.

"Shar, baby? Remember, keep breathing … ow … and ease up on my hand, please, baby."

"Your answer...", Bailey reminded them.

Sharpay whispered something, but Troy couldn't quite make it out. "What was that, Shar? Do you want us to stop?"

"Sh-shout out, Mobile Shout-out! Call Ryan." She finally managed to get out. "Oh shit! This really hurts!"

"Mobile Shout-out", Troy called up to the driver.

"No prob, but the censors are gonna hafta chop this show to bits", Bailey told him, referring to Sharpay's profane speech. "Who are you going to call?"

"Her brother." Troy pulled his phone out; but before he could make the call, it started ringing. With relief, Troy saw that it was Ryan calling. "Wow, that's him now."

"_Where are you? I've been at the hospital for 15 minutes! And I've got the ..."_

"Ryan, calm down. We're fine. You'll never believe this, but we're in the Cash Cab." Troy held the phone away from his ear in reaction to Ryan's loud squeal of excitement.

"_That's fantastic! Let me talk to Shar."_

"You can't. She's having … like a massive contraction right now and you're our Mobile Shout-out."

"_Oh, wow. I'm so honored."_ Ryan's voice sobered dramatically. _"I won't let you down. I promise."_

Troy nodded while nervously watching Sharpay. "Okay, here's the question." Bailey repeated the question and Troy echoed it into the phone for Ryan.

"_That's easy. It's Chicago."_

"Chicago", Troy quickly relayed up to Bailey.

"That is … correct."

"Thanks, man. You were right and we'll be there in a few minutes. Bye." Troy hung up before Ryan could say anymore. He smiled over at Sharpay who was looking very pale and shaky. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah", she licked her upper lip in a very unladylike manner. "I'm better. This one's about over now." She sat up a little straighter and released Troy's hand with an embarrassed shrug. "Worse one yet", she added unnecessarily.

Bailey spoke from the front seat. "Your total now stands at $850 and you have only four blocks to go. The next question is … oh, I think you're going to like this one, Troy. Who was the oldest NBA player ever?"

Troy smiled. Finally, it was his turn to shine. "Kevin Willis of the Mavericks", Troy announced confidently.

"I'm sorry; that is incorrect. It was Nat Hickey of the 1947-48 Providence Steamrollers and at 46, he was the oldest player in NBA history."

"Ow!", Troy exclaimed as he rubbed his left arm. "Why'd you hit me?"

"You screwed up an answer", she explained unnecessarily as she swatted him again.

"So did you", he shot back, referring to the earlier question they'd missed.

"But that was our first wrong answer and this was the second and one more and we're out. Plus!", Sharpay raised her hand in the air for emphasis, "that was a basketball question. How on earth could you miss a _basketball_ question? My God, Troy, it's what you do!"

"Sorry folks; that was your second strike, but you still have your Street Shout-out so don't forget about it and by the way, man, she's right. How could you miss a basketball question? That's just embarrassing." He shook his head sadly.

"There's three blocks to go and here's your next question for two hundred bucks... First described by Sigmund Freud, what psychological phenomenon causes a patient to project feelings of desire onto his therapist?"

Troy had no idea and he looked anxiously over at Sharpay who had her eyes squeezed shut again.

"Oh hell...", he groaned.

"We need to hurry up", Sharpay told him through gritted teeth. "I don't want to play this game anymore."

"What do I tell him? If we quit, he'll kick us out."

"Shit! Out! This hurts! Get it out!"

"Street Shout-out it is", Bailey said as he misunderstood Sharpay's lamentations. "Choose wisely and good luck."

Troy had a stunned look on his face as the cab pulled over to the curb. The door was flung open by an equally stunned looking man, standing on the curb with a skate board in one hand and a cello case in the other.

A gravelly voice apologized, "Sorry dude, I thought this cab was free."

"Uh no, we're on Cash Cab", Troy explained. He paused then because he couldn't quite place him, but he was sure he knew this guy from somewhere.

"Oh wow, that's really cool."

"Can I ask you a question?" Troy asked hesitantly as he squinted and racked his brains trying to remember who this guy was.

"Sure, no prob... Hey, do I know you?" Then, before Troy could acknowledge that he also thought he recognized this man, the cello playing skate boarder exclaimed, "Dude! You're Troy Bolton! We went to high school together, man! I'm Ripper!"

Troy stared at the guy in confusion.

"You remember … I'm the skater who played the cello?"

Troy's eyes lit up in recognition. "Of course, how could I forget? What are you doing here?"

Sharpay picked this well-scripted moment to moan and Ripper leaned into the minivan to get a better look at her. "Sharpay Evans!" He turned back to Troy and explained, "I was always good with names." Then, back to Sharpay, he said, "Wow, dudette, you look like you're about ready to push that baby out." Back to Troy, he added, "We always knew you two would get together", he said sagely, without identifying who _we_ were.

"Hey, Ripper!", Bailey called from the front seat. "We're in the middle of a show here. So you want to answer the question or not?"

"Oh sure, no prob. Hit me!"

Troy shook his head to try and clear it. Sharpay was right. The entire student body of East High did live here now. "Okay, here goes... First described by Sigmund Freud, what psychological phenomenon causes a patient to project feelings of desire onto his therapist?"

Ripper smiled to himself before answering and said, "Ah man... my therapist, Gigi, was just telling me about this last week. She was soooo hot. Anyway, it's called transference."

"Transference", Troy told Ben Bailey, then he quickly leaned over and shut the door, thanking Ripper at the same.

"My pleasure, dude. And hey, you should come hear me play some night. I'll be performing at Carnegie Hall for the next two weeks. I'll give you a back stage pass." The cab pulled off before Troy could reply.

"That is correct; what incredible luck to run into an old classmate at this time of night."

Sharpay had a comment. "Better luck would be if he'd been an obstetrician, instead of a cellist."

Troy nodded thoughtfully and leaned forward to talk to the driver in as calm a voice as he could muster. "Hey, Ben... We really appreciate the chance to play the game and all, but you really need to get her to the hospital now. I've been timing the contractions and they're only about a minute apart."

Bailey's eyebrows raised comically and he turned around to look at Sharpay, sitting directly behind him. "Oh... this has never happened before, but we're less than a block away, so let's go." He lurched the taxi forward and sped quickly towards the hospital which they could see right ahead of them.

Ben quickly pulled up to the Emergency Room and slammed on the brakes, oblivious to the large signs proclaiming ambulances only. "Guess what, guys? We've reached your destination and you've won $1,050 on the Cash Cab."

Troy ignored him and quickly flung open his door and ran around to Sharpay's side to help her out.

The host ignored Troy's action and continued on with his script. "Okay, here's the deal, guys. I've got the $1,050 right here..." Bailey held up the cash and waved it in front of them.

Troy reached over to unbuckle Sharpay's seatbelt and she shooed him away. "You can't be serious", he hissed at her.

"Troy... just listen to what he has to say. We're at the hospital now, so there's nothing to worry a-bo..." Sharpay trailed off as a look of mortification poured over her face. "Oh hell... my water just broke", she whispered this, so only Troy could hear her. "And crap! Here comes another one." She grabbed Troy's hand and held on tightly as she tried to breath through the contraction.

"...you can take it and walk or... stick around, risk it all and go for a double or nothing video bonus question." Troy stared at the television host in stunned amazement. "Here's how it works..."

"WE KNOW HOW IT WORKS, YOU IDIOT!! We're fans!", Sharpay screamed at him as her body arched off the seat as the pain of the contractions spread through her lower body in wave after painful wave.

"Oooo-kaaay... so do you want to go for it?" Bailey was clearly intimidated by this woman.

Troy looked at Sharpay who was sweating profusely and didn't seem to be aware of their surroundings anymore. "Shar?

"I-I … can't do this", she wailed in a voice that shocked Troy. He had never before heard such a mournful sound of defeat from her. Sharpay was a strong person and once she set her sights on a goal nothing would dissuade her from her goal --- even if it meant lying, cheating or fiddling with posted call-back times to achieve it. However, now...

Troy looked Bailey in the eyes and announced, "We're passing on it, man." Then, he leaned out of the cab and called for someone to help him get Sharpay out.

"Good decision, man", Bailey said as he hopped out to help him. Ryan appeared out of nowhere with a wheelchair and the three of them lowered her into it. Troy grabbed onto the handles and ran full out toward the Emergency Room doors, leaving Ben Bailey standing awkwardly next to Ryan next to the cab.

"Well... I have to go now", Bailey announced.

"Yeah, me too. I'm about to become an uncle."

In recognition, Bailey looked over at Ryan. "Oh, were you the Mobile Shout-out?"

"Yep, that's me."

"Here, then let me give you this money." Ben handed Ryan the cash that Troy and Sharpay had just won. "In all the excitement, I forgot to give it to them.

"Man, has it been a busy night. First, Shar calls me to come over and shave her legs. Weird, uh? Then, Troy comes in and saves the day and before they leave for the hospital, Troy tells me to call a …" Ryan trailed off as the realization hit him. "Hell, I've got to get in there. I'm going to be late for a wedding."

"Wow, those people should have their own show", Bailey said into the camera as he went to get back into the taxi. Then he remembered something and shouted out toward the hospital, "Remember, there are 13,000 cabs in New York City, but there's only _one_ that pays _you_!"

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

Okay, so originally I had the street shout-out guy be this psychologist who just happened to be walking by, but my beta said that sounded really scripted, so I jokingly said why don't I have some other East High grad pop up on the streets of New York. And so I did...

A side note on the skater dude's name... the movie didn't name him; he was only called Skater Dude #1, but the play called him Ripper. And the only reason I know this is because I remembered someone putting that in a review for Unlove, my story from 2-3 years ago and I have this freaky memory for things that don't matter.

And about the Jewish thing... Ashley Tisdale is Jewish, so I just thought it would make it interesting to throw that in.

And almost all the questions were real Cash Cab question that I got off of youtube.

Please R & R

Thanks,

j


	21. Labor Woes

_A High School Musical fanfiction  
by  
GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 19: Labor Woes**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Sharpay's face relaxed and she seemed to come out of her pain-induced stupor just as Troy was rolling the wheelchair through the Emergency Room doors.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you going? Stop this thing right now. We've got to go back and do the video bonus question."

"Ha, ha... very funny, Shar." Troy rolled her up to the admissions window and stopped.

"I'm not kidding. Why did you take me out of the taxi? We weren't finished."

"Maybe it was because you told me to. You said you couldn't do the gameshow anymore, so we quit."

"Quit? Where the hell was I during all this?" She was livid.

"Oh I'm not sure, Sharpay", Troy snapped back at her. "Maybe you were the one writhing in pain and pleading with me to quit." His tone with her was very brusque and a far cry from the unending patience he normally exhibited.

"I did not!"

The admissions nurse was tired of watching these two argue. "Excuse me; this is the Emergency Room, so if there's no..."

Troy interrupted her. "My girlfriend needs to be admitted."

"No, I don't", Sharpay insisted from her position in the chair, but she was already beginning to feel that tell-tale tightening in her abdomen, signaling the start of another contraction.

Troy continued as if she hadn't said anything. "She's in transition labor and her contractions are about a minute apart."

Sharpay also continued as if Troy hadn't said anything at all about labor; although she was secretly impressed that he had been paying attention during their childbirth class. "What I need is to be back in that cab watching the video bonus question."

This statement caught the nurse's attention. "Video bonus? Were you on the Cash Cab? That's so exciting. How'd you do?"

She addressed the question to Troy who looked like he wasn't able to follow both conversations --- one where he was trying to admit Sharpay into the hospital and the other where they was discussing the joys of appearing on a TV game show.

"I … uh."

Ryan picked that well-timed moment to arrive, breathing hard and flashing a stack of cash in their direction. "Hey, Ben Bailey forgot to give you the money, so here it is … $1,050." Ryan smiled wryly. "Not bad for a free cab ride, but why didn't you stay for the bonus question? You could have doubled this", waving the money around wildly.

"You people are crazy!", Troy ranted at Ryan and Sharpay. "She's about to give birth and you all want to go on a game show!"

"You're already pre-admitted", the admissions nurse told him as the shoved a clipboard in his direction. "... so just sign here and you can go straight into one of our birthing suites. Did you take the tour?" She asked Sharpay, referring to the tour arranged by their childbirth class instructor a few months ago.

Sharpay was deep in the throes of another contraction and didn't respond. Troy didn't look up from signing the documents, but answered anyway, "Yes, we came a couple of months ago. It's very nice, but it doesn't seem like we're going to be in there very long."

"Usually, first-time parents come here too early", the nurse commented as she studied Sharpay dispassionately while the younger woman sat withering in pain. "But it looks like you almost didn't make it. Do you feel the need to push yet, honey?"

"Gggrrrr! I've felt like pushing for the last twenty contractions", Sharpay barely managed to bite out.

Ryan grabbed Troy's arm and pulled him over away from Sharpay. "Okay... so I've got the guy to do the ceremony."

"Is he a Rabbi?", Troy asked quickly.

"Huh?"

"Did you get a Rabbi?", Troy asked more slowly.

"Noooo, did you want a Rabbi? Are you observant?", Ryan looked even more confused than was his norm.

"Am I what?" Now it was Troy's turn to look confused. While he had always considered himself attentive, Troy wasn't sure why Ryan was bringing that up now.

"Are you an observant Jew? Just to let you know, we aren't. Our mother is Jewish and we did the whole Bar / Bat Mitzvah thing, but that was really just to get all the gifts, but don't tell Mom, okay?"

"What are you talking abo..." Troy looked up to see an orderly wheeling Sharpay down the hall. "I've got to go. Just find us in one of the birthing suite, but come in alone. I haven't even asked her yet."

"What?! Why not? What were you doing all this time?"

Troy called over his shoulder as he ran down the hallway, "Just watch it on TV, Ryan."

The elevator doors shut just as Troy reached them. However he quickly found the stairs and the birthing floor and was able to meet up with Sharpay and the orderly as they went into the suite. It was pretty tense for a few minutes as the labor nurse helped Sharpay change into a hospital gown and then get into the bed. All the wires and monitors connected to her made Troy feel a little queasy.

"Oh my...", the nurse commented as she checked Sharpay's progress by performing a quick pelvic examination. "You're fully dilated. I'll go get the doctor."

"Wow, I guess this is it...", Troy started hesitantly as he stood beside the bed and held her hand.

She looked up at him with her chocolate brown eyes swimming in unshed tears. "I'm afraid, Troy. That's what I was talking about in the taxi. I don't want to play this mommy game anymore. That's the game I want to quit. No kid deserves to have a mom like me. I'm irritable; I'm neurotic; I'm impossible; I'm arrogant...stop me anytime, will ya?"

Troy chuckled and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "You are irritable, neurotic, impossible, and arrogant", he chanced a glimpse of her glaring at him through those beautiful brown eyes. "... but in a good way. You'll be a great mom, Sharpay. Remember this is new for me too. We'll learn together."

He pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned his cheek against hers.

"Hey, before anything else happens... I have something I need to ask you."

Hearing the seriousness in his tone, she nodded for him to continue.

Troy took a deep breath. "I love you. Although, I liked you way before I loved you." Sharpay squinted up at him suspiciously and he quickly amended. "That's a good thing, Shar. I think all relationships should be built on friendship first. Granted... we kind of fell into this whole relationship backwards, but we did build it on a strong foundation of friendship first."

She seemed to zone out and he stopped talking, thinking that he was approaching this the wrong way.

"No, don't stop talking … just speed it up some. I don't have much time here."

"O-okay... I had this all planned out for tonight … I mean before you went into labor, then everything just went crazy." Sharpay squeezed her eyes shut and Troy started talking faster. "Okay, so here's the deal... I love you and you love me so let's get married."

Her eyes flew open just as the doctor and his staff walked into the room.

"I hear we have a baby who's in a bit of a hurry tonight", an older man in scrubs announced as he waltzed into the room. He went immediately to the end of the bed and started his examination.

"What?", Sharpay asked Troy.

"Will you marry me?", he asked again.

The doctor looked up at them from his position between Sharpay's legs. "Ordinarily, I'd leave and give you two some privacy, but under the circumstances, I don't think we have time for that."

"Troy, I-I I don't want to get married. I told you that. I thought you understood."

"Well, yeah. Ya did, but then there was all that stuff about Martha and Ja..."

"I'm not Martha; you're not Jason. We don't have to do something just because other people are doing it. I love you, Troy, but I'm not ready for marriage." She looked down at the doctor who was doing some very unpleasant things to her under a blue sheet. "Not _now_."

Troy wasn't giving up so easily. "Does that mean you might be ready at a later date?"

Despite the circumstances and the escalating pain which was threatening to become unbearable at any second now, Sharpay smiled. He was so sweet. "I might be", she finally replied.

"Really?", his eyes lit up. "Because I got you a ring." He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

The tears in her eyes this time were from joy, not physical anguish and Sharpay suddenly realized how quiet the room had become. She looked down to see the entire birthing staff: a doctor and two nurses ardently studying the two of them.

She smiled back at Troy. "First let's get something straight. I want a big wedding with lots of appropriately expensive gifts."

"Of course", Troy agreed as a huge grin started to spread across his face.

"Then I'd be honored to wear your ring, but...", she added with an embarrassed shrug, "my finger is too fat right now."

"I-I thought about that, so I put it on a chain." Troy pulled a diamond solitaire ring out of the box with a gold chain threaded through it. He carefully slipped it over her neck just as she gasped out in pain.

"Congratulations on the engagement", the doctor said as he carefully probed around under the sheet. "Now that that's settled, it's time to get down to business. On the next contraction, push for all your worth."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Ryan pulled the door shut and turned toward to a tall, thin man wearing a turtle neck sweater and a purple knit cap on his head. Because of the short notice he'd received, Ryan decided to use the hospital's chaplain and he couldn't have been more surprised to find that he actually knew this guy.

"Sorry, Luke. Look's like the wedding's off."

In a slow, monotone voice, Luke replied, "That's a shame, Ryan. This would have been my first wedding. You don't really get many calls for weddings here in the hospital."

The two of them turned and starting walking down the hall, away from the birthing room and the screaming sounds of Sharpay Evans.

"Tell me again. How did you become a minister?"

"Well, after high school, Moonbeam and me... we just drifted around a lot. You remember Moonbeam? She was my girlfriend --- she looked just like me … 'cept she's a girl. Anyway, we drifted around … not settling in any one place for more than a week and that was fine, but then I received a message."

"A calling from God?", Ryan guessed.

"What? No, a voicemail from Mrs. Darbus. She was checking up on me to see if I'd started seeing a counselor like she told me and Moonbeam to do back in high school. So that's what we did. It changed our lives. Moonbeam's a Certified Public Accountant now --- she broke up with me, of course, and that's when I decided to become an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church."

"Universal Life Church? I've never heard of it."

"It's online, man. Instant online ordination for only $25. It's great! I fill out this online form; they send me an Ordination Credential and I'm good to go. It's very empowering … and to think I owe it all to the high school drama department. If I hadn't auditioned for that school play, none of this would have ever happened."

"Let me buy you a cup of coffee", Ryan offered. It was the least he could do for dragging the guy out in the middle of the night.

"I can't, man. I've sworn off caffeine. How about a beer, instead?"

"Sure, let's go. First babies take ages... I should know", Ryan stated with great authority. "Did you know that I'm a father?"

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"Oh, my poor baby... Will he be alright?", Sharpay asked with anxiety in her voice. She was still lying on the bed, completely exhausted, but consumed by worry.

The nurse raised her eyes from her newest patient and met Sharpay's eyes. "He's going to be just fine. Two or three stitches … at the most."

"Stitches?" Sharpay shifted her position to try and get a better look.

"That's right", the doctor assured her. "You'd be surprised at how often this happens. There's nothing to worry yourself about right now. It's the delivery of the placenta that gets them every time. See, he's coming around now." The doctor looked over at the gurney as their newest patient, Troy Bolton, started regaining consciousness after fainting dead away at the sight of the afterbirth. "Now...", continued the doctor to Sharpay, "I have one more question I need to ask: Would you like to keep the placenta?"

Sharpay's face wrinkled up in distaste. "No thank you."

Having been born and raised in the southwest, she knew that certain American Indians believed in planting the placenta under a tree and she remembered that Tom Cruise claimed he was going to eat the placenta of his baby with Katie Holmes, but she never heard what happened with that. But, please... why the hell was the doctor asking them this? Movement to her left brought Sharpay's attention back to Troy who was, indeed, waking up. Unfortunately, he must have heard the doctor's question because he went white as a sheet and passed out again.

Before she could even think of rolling her eyes, a smiling nurse approached her, carrying a tightly wrapped bundle.

"She's all cleaned up and ready to meet her mommy", the nurse cooed.

She gently placed the baby in Sharpay's arms and took a step back.

"Oh God, she's so beautiful." And she really was, Sharpay thought. She had seen other newborn babies and very often their heads were misshapen or their skin was a strange shade of yellow, but her baby girl was perfect. Her skin was a rosy pink and she had little curly wisps of blonde hair on her beautiful little head. The baby stared silently at Sharpay with big, slightly unfocused dark blue eyes. She seemed to be study Sharpay as intently as she was being studied.

Her baby girl.

Now if her 'baby daddy' would just stay conscious long enough to meet his daughter...

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

The Universal Life Church is real!!! And you can become an ordained minister for free, but you have to pay $25 for it to be legal in NYC.

I already did the whole birth thing in my story, Unlove You, and I decided I could never top that one, so there's not as much detail here about the actual birth itself.

Special shout-out to HeSaidSheSaid. She said wouldn't it be funny if the doctor was from East High and my first thought was Martha as the doctor, but I'd already used her, so that's how 'Jake', the performance artist got in the story.

Oh, and I hope people aren't too mad, but one of my original ideas for this story was that they NOT get married. It's too cliché.

And Clotisy... you are psychic. I had already written the scene where Troy fainted before I read your review. I swear. Was anyone worried that it was the baby Sharpay was talking about at the beginning of that scene?

Okay, so you know I love to research stuff, so you've got to check out the stuff I learned about what people do with placentas.

**Cultural Views of the Placenta**

**Navajo Indians**

The umbilical cord and placenta are buried near home so the child will always return home. The placenta also was buried next to objects of the profession the parents hoped that the child would become. Sometimes it was given to the grandmother to discard.

**Ghana**

The placenta is buried near the family house so that the child will not grow wayward.

**Guatemala**

The baby's companion which is the placenta can be either burned or buried. If it is burned it is burned according to the time of day the child was born.

**New Age Nut-Jobs**

---The placenta teddybear... I kid you not. Check out this website, but be warned... there's a really gross picture of one of the bears.

inhabitots dot com/2009/10/01/doing-it-for-the-kids-design-exhibition-placenta-teddy-bear/

---Human placentophagy

Once again, I kid you not. There are people out there who eat their own placenta. Like Tom Cruise... well, technically, it's not his placenta, it was Katie's but even so...

Please reward me for all my hard and disturbing research by leaving a review.

Thanks


	22. Hairdressers, Parents, Yorkiffs, oh my!

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction  
by  
GimmeABeat_

**Chapter 21: Hairdressers, Parents, and Yorkiffs, oh my!**

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Troy slowly approached the door and pushed it open. His head was pounding and he had to really concentrate on walking smoothly so as not to jar himself and cause his headache to intensify. Therefore, he entered the room in a slow, sliding gait, resembling an old lady shuffling across the floor wearing house slippers.

Sharpay looked up as he entered and softly offered a very subdued greeting. "Hi. How's your head?"

Troy self-consciously touched his eyebrow where three small steri-strips covered the five stitches it took to sew up his forehead. Steri-strips were like super strong bandaids and he could just imagine how it was going to hurt when those things finally came off. Luckily, the cut bisected his eyebrow, so when it was healed, the brow would cover any scar. Unfortunately, that meant that the doctor insisted on shaving off part of his eyebrow before stitching him up which made him look like some sort of mutant from a horror movie. All he needed was a hockey mask and a leather apron and he'd be set. Instead of sharing all these odd thoughts with Sharpay, Troy decided that even after his whole head-banging ordeal, she'd still been through more than he had and he responded appropriately.

"I'm fine. How are you feeling?"

"Sore" was her only response and Troy didn't feel a need to ask for details.

He walked up to the bed and realized what, or rather whom, she was cradling in her arms --- but not just cradling. She was doing something entirely more intimate than cradling.

"What are you doing?" His tone wasn't accusatory; it was genuine shock.

Sharpay gazed down lovingly at her baby and mumbled something to Troy while her lips were pressed against the baby's forehead.

"What?" Troy asked for clarification.

She looked up at him in annoyance. "I _said_, I'm nursing the baby."

"Why? You said you wanted to bottle feed, so that when you go back to work in six weeks you won't have to mess with switching her." He was completely confused and at the same time, completely mesmerized. Watching Sharpay breastfeed their child gave him an unnameable warmth inside him.

Sharpay shrugged nonchalantly. "I changed my mind." Then, as if feeling the need to defend herself she added. "It really is the best thing for the baby, you know."

"But won't that make it hard when you have to wean her in six weeks?"

Rather than answer, Sharpay looked back down at the baby, deciding that now was the perfect time to switch her to the other breast … or maybe she was just avoiding the question. She inserted her finger into the baby's mouth to break the suction and quickly moved the tiny body up to her shoulder.

"Wow, you're really good at that."

"The lactation consultant came by earlier and gave me some pamphlets and a little guidance. It's not as hard as it looks."

Troy sat down on the edge of the bed and gently rubbed the baby's back. "I think she fell asleep", he whispered.

"Milk drunk", explained Sharpay. "That's what the nurse called it."

"She's beautiful", Troy said gently while continuing to rub little circles on his daughter's back. "I got a chance to see her in the nursery when they were weighing her … before I got my stitches."

"Does it hurt much?"

After a lady-like little burp, Sharpay shifted the baby to her other breast and she quickly latched on.

"Not too bad. Does that?", he asked, indicating the baby currently suckling at her mother's breast.

Sharpay smiled. "A little, but it's supposed to get better."

"That's good."

They fell into a comfortable silence, the only noise in the room the baby's quiet slurping.

"So, I was thinking...", Sharpay looked up, coyly, to meet Troy's eyes. "You think we could survive on one income for a while?"

It was an absurd question. Individually, they were in a very high tax bracket and made more than enough money to 'survive', but he understood what she was asking. Would he think any less of her for staying at home to raise the baby? Would he think she was a hypocrite for everything she'd been spouting for months about going back to work?

She needn't have worried. A brilliant smile broke out on Troy's face. This was what he'd secretly wanted to suggest for ages now, but could never work up the nerve. "I think we could definitely do that."

"Oh good", Sharpay sighed in relief as she gently played with the baby's soft curls. "Now I think we need a name for this little angel and I have some ideas."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ  
**

Ryan flew through LaGuardia airport. He'd taken it upon himself to call his parents as soon as Troy and Sharpay had left for the hospital. It was his way of making amends to them for missing out on his wedding. In his defense they weren't even in the country at the time, but still his mother was insisting that he and Donny repeat the ceremony back home in the summer.

Sharpay's parents called Troy's parents and the four of them decided to fly here together in the Evans' company plane. The small Lear jet required refueling in Chicago, so the flight took them just under six hours to complete.

After having a few beers with his former classmate, Luke, Ryan was planning on returning to the hospital for the long wait for the baby, but a frantic call from Donny had him making a detour back to Troy's apartment. During the entire ride over there, Donny called every two minutes, continuing his litany of "Oh, My God! Oh, My God! When will you be here? I can't handle this alone."

However, handle it alone was exactly what he'd done. When Ryan walked through the door the crisis was over and an exhausted Donny was lying slumped in a corner of the laundry room with a huge grin on his face. "I did it. I handled the entire situation completely by myself", he said proudly. Then, his voice dropped to a whisper. "Sharpay said she would get revenge on me for that caddy remark I made about how our niece or nephew was conceived."

Ryan was still overwhelmed by the sight before him and wasn't actually following Donny's line of reasoning. "Huh?"

"Do you think she planned _this_?", Donny asked, indicating Betty and Boi who were both curled up around their new litter of _**puppies**_.

By then, he was already late for the airport.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ  
**

"There he is! Duckie!", Darby Evans exclaimed as she spotted her son's blonde hair bobbing through the crowded terminal. She was standing outside an overpriced boutique in the terminal. She quickly shoved the blouse she was holding back into the rack and ran to meet Ryan.

"'Bout time", grumbled Jack Bolton. He was standing next to Vance Evans and the two of them were flipping through golfing magazines and looking thoroughly bored at the newsstand next door.

Lucy Bolton joined her husband as they walked towards the Evans reunion. Lucy was, not so secretly,

relieved to have her browsing expedition with Darby postponed. Although she had to admit the woman had stunning taste. Darby wore tailored black pants which made her appear even more trim than she actually was, if that was possible. Plus her matching jersey tank top accentuated her well-toned triceps and shoulders which were visible when she removed her jacket. Luckily for Lucy, Darby found the New York air chilly so she opted to wear her chic button-front St. John jacket. Thinking ahead, Darby had worn leopard print Donald Pliner kitten-heel slides to make the trip through security go more smoothly. And finally her leopard print clutch purse gave her a completely put-together and fitted look. Lucille Bolton felt like a reject from Wal-Mart when she was around Darby and she was tired of feeling light-headed by continually having to suck in her gut to try and match Darby's flat abs. In short she hated the skinny bitch!

Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile that still melted her heart after almost thirty years.

Since it was so late, or so incredibly early, depending on your perspective, Ryan decided to take the new grandparents to a hotel so they could freshen up and get some breakfast before going over to the hospital.

"That's a wonderful idea, Duckie", Darby commented as she grabbed onto Ryan's arm and led him to her large wheeled suitcase which he dutifully started pulling through the airport. The other three Albuquerquians had small carry-on bags, but that was to be expected. Darby always needed more than was necessary whenever she traveled. She continued talking as they walked toward the taxi stand. "That way Lucille will be able to change into something with less wrinkles."

Lucy Bolton growled deep in her throat, but said nothing. Her wrinkled appearance was what had originally prompted the clothes browsing. Lucy's linen suit, admittedly not the best choice, was a wrinkled mess by the time they stepped off the plane and Darby was determined that the other woman look her best when they met their shared grandchild. After all, as Darby reminded her, there would be pictures.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ  
**

Sharpay was in the middle of a deep, dreamless sleep. Sleep that could only be achieved by someone who was completely exhausted --- someone who'd given birth less than 12 hours ago and who'd been awaken by said birthee every two hours since then. Sleep, Sharpay had decided was now her top priority, after seeing to the immediate needs of her baby, that is. Luckily those immediate needs consisted of having her diaper changed, eating, and thank God ... sleeping. She even had the remarkable ability to do all three activities simultaneously. Troy was the one who had pointed that out. He was sure that meant she was gifted. Sharpay wasn't so sure.

In the midst of this most wonderful and restful activity, Sharpay was jarred awake by an irritating voice which, to her sleep deprived brain, sounded just like one of those little French pea guys from the Veggietales videos she used to watch as a child.

"Sharrr-paaay, time to wake up, cheri", cooed an absurd French accent directly into her ear. "Eats time pour vous to become boot-e-full."

"Whaa?"

"Reeshard is here to make your dreams come true."

_Reeshard?_ Sharpay would admit to having had some pretty odd dreams over the course of her pregnancy, but she thought they would stop now that she'd given birth. And anyhow, she'd never dreamed of her hairdresser before.

Another voice permeated her consciousness now and this one wasn't as friendly. "Come on, deary. Get your tush up so we can make you look presentable. Remember me, dear? I made that hung-over super model famous."

Sharpay cracked open one bleary eye. It was her --- the make-up artist from Gisele's hung-over photoshoot.

"Oh God, this has got to be a nightmare", the exhausted blonde moaned.

"Au contraire, mon chéri. This eeess your mère's gift to you."

Now both eyes opened wide. "My _mother?_"

"She called from her plane and explained that there would definitely be photos of the baby taken today and that you would want to look your best." He started unpacking his equipment as he talked. "You can thank her later."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ  
**

An hour later, Reeshard was putting the finishing touches on her hair while Madeline, that was the make-up artist's name, was working on her eyes. In the background an upbeat song by Ashley Tisdale played out a peppy beat on Reeshard's iPod.

_I like what you do to my hair  
Who knew that looking a mess could feel so good  
I like what you do to my hair  
Toss it up, tease it, run your fingers through it  
Oh, how you do it _

_Now go and mess it up  
Mess it up, baby mess it up  
Mess it up, mess it up  
Do what you like, can't get enough, oh  
I like what you do to my hair _

"You have to admire a singer who writes a song in honor of her hairdresser", Reeshard commented as he delicately played with Sharpay's hair.

"Oh, Ree-shard, she didn't write that about her hairdresser. She was talking about her boyfriend. She likes the way he plays with her hair."

"And who's to say she did not date her hairdresser", Reeshard argued. "We're not all gay, you know? Aaah, speaking of which... did you hear about Gerard?"

Sharpay's eyes grew wide in anticipation of some juicy gossip.

"He got married … to a … woman! Can you believe it?"

"But I thought Gerard was gay."

"He is … oh most definitely. But! His new wife has something his old lover did not."

"What?"

"Money, of course. She is financing his own shop for him. It's almost enough to make one go over ..." He leaned in closer and his voice dropped to a whisper. " … to the dark side."

"You mean?"

"Yes … women", he pronounced the word with a distinct sneer.

"But Ree-shard... you work with women all day."

"I work with their hair, Sharpay. I do not share my bed with them." Then, he shivered as if the temperature of the room had dropped ten degrees.

"You said it, sister", Madeline added as she expertly twirled the foundation brush before applying it to Sharpay's nose.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ  
**

After Reeshard and Madeline left Sharpay had a scant fifteen minutes of alone time with the baby before an army of grandparents stormed the room. At least that's what it felt like.

"Sharpay, you look absolutely perfect", her mother crooned as she swept into the room, followed closely by the other three grandparents with Troy pulling up the rear. He looked dead on his feet and Sharpay realized with regret that he'd probably gotten less sleep than she. "Reeshard did a wonderful job."

Sharpay's hair was down around her shoulders and professionally straightened to perfectly frame her face. Her eyes were striking with copper shadow and brown eyeliner which emphasized her brown eyes and made them even more lovely than normal. A light pink gloss graced her lips and no one would have ever guessed that she was a brand new mother. She wore a pink satin gown and matching robe which not surprisingly coordinated with the baby's dressing gown.

Lucy went directly to the clear, plastic bassinet sitting next to the bed.

"Oh, Troy... she's absolutely beautiful."

Troy's eyes lit up with pride as he joined his mother.

"Thanks, Mom, but I can only take half the credit."

Lucille lifted her head to look at Sharpay and was surprised by the look of complete adoration she saw … directed at her son. She glanced back to Troy who was staring at Sharpay and saw her intense love echoed in his eyes. Lucille couldn't say she disliked Sharpay. In fact she'd never really thought much about her. Therefore, when Troy told them about Sharpay's pregnancy, she just thought it was an unfortunate mistake, a mistake which would prove to be most detrimental to the baby who was the only innocent in this situation. Now however, she was going to have to rethink things. Troy and Sharpay obviously cared about each other and even if the two of them didn't stay together, Sharpay would continue to be a part of their lives from now on.

Ew, thought Lucy. That meant she'd have to make an effort to get along with Darby Evans too.

"You okay, Mom?", Troy asked when he finally pulled his eyes away from Sharpay. "You look a little queasy."

Lucy shrugged it off. "I'm fine, dear. Now do you have a name for this little angel? You were being very mysterious about it earlier."

Sharpay perked right up and brushed off Darby who was fussing with her hair even more than Reeshard had. "We do; we do have a name. Troy?"

Troy smiled at his mother. "Yes, her name is Callea Bliss."

Jack, who until this moment had been staring in awe at the tiny baby, guffawed loudly. Darby's eyes narrowed at him.

"We're going to call her Calli", Sharpay explained.

"Callea...", Darby commented, "means beautiful and Bliss means perfect. Those are lovely choices, Sharpay."

"You knew the meaning of those names?", Jack asked incredulously.

"Of course, it's a hobby of mine. I assume Jack is short for John which means God is gracious. I spent a lot of time picking out just the right name for Sharpay. Her name is Chinese for sand skin. See, I just knew she would have a gorgeous bronze tan."

"I always thought it was because of that wrinkled dog."

Darby ignored that comment.

"I picked Ryan's name", Vance added. "It was my father's."

"But don't you think a more …", Jack was having problems finding the right way to phrase the question, "traditional name would serve her better."

"More traditional?", Darby asked. "What names would you have preferred? Lisa, Katie, Nicole, Claire, Amanda, Katie?"

"You already said that one, Mom."

"Yes, I know, but it's so common place that it needed to be said twice."

Lucy straightened up. "Well, I, for one, think that Calli is a beautiful name for a beautiful baby."

"Thank you, Mrs. Bolton."

"Thank you, Sharpay. And please, call me Lucy."

Sharpay smiled back at her and then, looked around the room and realized for the first time that someone was missing.

"Where's Ryan?"

"He had to stay and help Donny. There was a little problem with the dogs", Troy told her.

"Problem?", Sharpay asked nervously. "Is something wrong with Boi?" Always one to jump to conclusions, she added hastily, "What did Donny do?"

"It's hard to explain", Vance started.

"...And even harder to believe", Jack added with a chuckle.

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

"But how did he... and she... well, you know", Sharpay asked Troy after a lengthy explanation of how Betty had given birth to a litter of six very healthy puppies.

"We've been trying to figure that one out."

"Ya gotta hand it to the little guy, though", Jack commented. "Makes you kinda proud to be male."

"Absolutely", Vance joined in.

"Men!", huffed Darby.

"Well, you know what they say", Lucy added, "Men are dogs."

"What would you call them? ...you know with all those designer dog breeds", Troy asked.

"How about Yorkiff or Mastie?", Jack suggested.

"...Or a Mashire?", Troy said.

"I think I like Yorkiff", Sharpay said. "What do they look like?"

Lucy volunteered her opinion. "Oh Sharpay, they're so ugly, they're cute."

Darby concurred. "We will definitely not be naming any of these puppies Calli."

**TBC**

**Author's Notes:**

About the baby names... According to babyname dot com, Sharpay is Chinese for Sand Skin.

Then, I was having fun with this one. I looked through all the Troypay stories I wrote and found that Troy and Sharpay were a very protective couple. Lisa Nicole was the baby from Unlove You, Claire was the daughter from the epilogue for Baby for Sale, Katie was the oldest daughter from my first story, Unanswered Prayers. Amanda was the second daughter. And I used Katie again as the daughter in Detecting Past Truths.

And that's just the girls. The boys were Brandon, Cecil, Jonathon and Andrew. Anybody remember which stories the boys were from?

Okay, so here's another one of those things I wanted to do with this fic from the beginning ---- the dog love story with Boi and Betty having puppies together. And no, I have no idea how he did it --- Maybe with a ladder.

Well, this one is almost over. Only the epilogue left to write.

The slow economy must be affecting the reviews. That's the only reason I can think of. So please try and pull yourself out of the economic downturn by leaving a comment or two. Thanks.


	23. Epilogue

**My Life Would Suck Without You**

_A High School Musical fanfiction  
by  
GimmeABeat_

**Epilogue **

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

_Six weeks later..._

"I'm home!", Sharpay called as she walked into the apartment with her arms full of packages from some of the trendiest stores on upscale Madison Avenue.

Betty, Boi and their horde of puppies all came barreling around the corner from the laundry room, the puppies slipping and sliding on the hard-wood floors and bouncing off each other as they each tried to be the first to make it to Sharpay. She dropped the shopping bags, more in self-defense than in a desire to bond with the dogs, but she had to admit it was hard to resist those ugly little faces. Within minutes, she was sitting in the entryway with six puppies crawling all over her, vying for her attention.

A male voice broke through the yipping, yapping and slurping.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Sharpay Evans would willingly sit on the floor with, and I quote, 'a pack of wild mutts'." Troy stood at the bottom of the stairs with Calli lying on her belly over his forearm with his other arm resting gently on her back. Troy cupped her little head in the palm of his hand. It was a perfect fit and her favorite way to be carried.

"I did say that, didn't I?", Sharpay admitted as she reluctantly rose from the floor, leaving the puppies feeling dejected and sad, if their whimpers were anything to judge by. Betty quickly distracted them by walking over and nuzzling one with her snout while Boi tugged playfully on another's ear. They quickly forgot the sweet smelling human when they started playing with their mother and father.

Sharpay slowly approached Troy. "Well, they aren't as bad as I thought they'd be. It's pretty amazing, in fact, how quickly they've each developed their own distinct personalities. I'm really going to miss them." Five of the six puppies had already been spoken for. The two identical brindle-colored males were going to Ryan and Donny. Gisele laid claim to the one red head. Louise, Doreen's former secretary, asked for the small, quiet female. Interesting choice, considering how oppositely this reflected her. Chad and Taylor agreed, much to Taylor's dismay, to take the large, dopey one.

Troy wanted to keep the last one to be Calli's dog. That way, as he explained it, they would each have their own pet. Troy picked the most precocious or annoying, depending on your point of view, for Calli and named her D.Q. D.Q. was short for Drama Queen because he said that the puppy reminded him of Sharpay. Since she was the least hideous of the litter, Sharpay didn't mind the comparison … too much. She was a miniature copy of Boi, complete with his innate love of pampering and everyone was inextricably drawn to the light brown puppy.

She reached out to take Calli, but Troy stopped her.

"You don't want to do that unless you're ready to devote a good half hour to nursing her."

"Ohhh", Sharpay grimaced slightly. "I take it she didn't think much of the bottle, huh?"

"Like usual", he said matter-of-factly.

Sharpay put a light hand to one of her full breasts. "Well, I need her as much as she needs me then." She gently lifted Calli from Troy's arm and held her with a hand under each armpit and her fingers splayed across the back of the baby's head, supporting her. Sharpay studied her briefly before moving the baby to her shoulder. It was amazing how much she'd grown in just six weeks. Calli had initially lost weigh after coming home from the hospital, but that was to be expected. However, within a week she was back to her birth weight of 6 lbs. 14 oz. And now five weeks later, she was close to nine pounds. Her hair was growing right along with the rest of her and hadn't suffered at all from the hair loss that new-born infants often display. It fell in soft little blonde ringlets all about her chubby little face. And her eyes … to Sharpay they seemed to lighten everyday and she knew that soon they would be the identical crystal blue color of Troy's. As she started to walk to her favorite chair, the baby realized who was holding her and started whimpering and fussing in anticipation of her next meal.

"She never reacts that way when I hold her", Troy complained in mock annoyance.

"That's because you don't smell like dinner. I know this sounds nasty, but why do you think the puppies like me so much?"

It took Troy a second to understand her meaning and then, he wrinkled his nose distastefully. "That _is_ nasty. And don't they know … Calli and I are the only two allowed to belly up to your bar."

"And it's worth saying again", she quipped. "Men are dogs."

Troy poured Sharpay a cup of ginseng tea, which she enjoyed sipping when she nursed the baby and sat down on the sofa across from her.

"So how did it go?", Troy asked anxiously.

"Which part? The shopping, the meeting or the doctor's appointment?"

Troy raised an eyebrow in response.

"Right...", she continued. "Silly question... as you can see the shopping went well." He narrowed his eyes. Obviously this wasn't what interested him. "Okay, okay...", she chuckled. "the meeting went well … very well."

"And?"

"They liked my business plan. They liked my experience in the area. They liked my list of established names who were willing to come on-board." Sharpay stopped playing with Calli's curls and looked up to Troy with a huge smile on her face. "The bank gave me the full loan amount."

"Oh, that's awesome, babe! I'm so happy for you." Troy ran over to Sharpay and gently kissed her on the lips and then kissed the top of Calli's head. "Your mommy is going to be famous", he whispered.

"I gave up on famous a long time ago. I'll settle for just … fabulously wealthy, instead."

"Destiny Modeling Agency", Troy announced the name as his hand framed each word in the air. "I like it."

She sighed as she lifted Calli up for a hearty burp. "I can't believe this is happening. When Gisele and Louise came to me five weeks ago, I thought it was just to see the baby. I really had no idea they would ever talk me into this. I also had no idea that Gisele was so close to the end of her contract, but the biggest prize of all will be Louise. Doreen only paid her as a secretary, but she's always been more like an office manager and with her working for me … well, I think we really have a chance of making it. Plus, I'll get to do the job I love and have Calli there with me everyday. It'll definitely be the best of both worlds."

"She's going to get spoiled being around all those models everyday."

"Oh, you are ten times worse than anyone else, Troy Bolton, and you know it. You want to carry her around all the time. When you're around, the only way I get to hold her is when I'm feeding her", Sharpay huffed, but there was no real bite in her voice. "And besides, it's never too early to learn about glam. Calli needs to be around good influences to counteract your bad fashion genes."

"Hey! That's not fair; I change my socks and underwear everyday now, you know." Troy raised his brow and smiled his quirky little half smile. Then his voice became serious. "I'm thrilled for you, Shar. And I know you'll do great things."

"Thanks... This, this whole year has been … remarkable to say the least. And it could have ended so badly if it hadn't been for you." She looked down at Calli who was now firmly ensconced in the second half of her meal and Sharpay's eyes grew misty. "To think..." She cleared her throat to start again. "To think there was a time when I didn't even want..."

"Don't", Troy said firmly. "It's in the past and we don't need to bring it up again." He reached out and took one of her hands and squeezed it reassuringly. "We, the two of us, are going to be the best parents any little girl has ever had. You got that." She nodded and smiled and cried, all at the same time. "Good." Then, his eyes grew dark and he threw a look towards the bags still lying in the floor next to the elevator. "Soooo... what's in the Frederick's of Hollywood bag?"

She sniffed one final time before replying. "I had my six-week postpartum visit today with the doctor."

"Really?", Troy asked as if this was a complete surprise to him.

"Yep."

A few minutes of silence ensued until Troy could pretend disinterest no longer.

"Well?", he finally blurted out.

"Oh, you mean the check-up?"

"Sharpay...", he warned.

"Okay, okay. I had a complete physical and everything looks fine. He gave me a pelvic..." She looked up at Troy and grinned. "You don't give a damn about my health, do you? You just want to know if we can have sex again, right?"

To her surprise, he answered by saying, "Wuf, wuf. We're dogs, remember?"

"Oh, I remember. And the good news is, he said … and I quote, 'If _you_ feel ready, Sharpay, then you and your partner are ready'." He was hanging on her every word and she just couldn't tease him any longer. "There's something I think you might find very interesting in that Frederick's of Hollywood bag." She paused for effect. "And by the way, I feel ready. I feel very ready. And more importantly, Calli is sound asleep."

Calli had been sleeping through the entire night … or at least how she defined the 'entire night', which was more like five hours, for the past week or so. Five hours of uninterrupted sleep was better than how they'd spent the first few weeks of their daughter's life. Waking up every two hours nearly killed the both of them. Sharpay certainly wasn't going to suffer from sleep deprivation alone, so she always made sure to make enough noise that Troy woke up even when the baby's cries couldn't stir him.

At hearing about the Frederick's of Hollywood purchase, Troy jumped up from his place on the floor next to her chair. He was at the bags in seconds, grabbing the distinctive red shopping bag and looking in it. A huge smile spread across his face.

She had to smile; he looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. "This is for me?", he asked with a big smirk.

"Well, I'm the one who gets to wear it, but you're the one who gets to appreciate it."

"Nuff said."

**ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ**

Several hours later, Sharpay awoke to find herself alone in the bed. She stretched luxuriously under the 1,000 count Egyptian cotton, enjoying the familiar feel of those telltale muscle aches which normally accompanied an ambitious evening with Troy. He was undoubtedly the most exuberant and generous lover she'd ever had or ever hoped to have. Sharpay swept her tousled blonde hair out of her face and smiled to herself at that realization. This was the happiest and most content she'd ever been in her entire life. The room was dark, but there was moonlight shining from the window and Sharpay realized absently that the remote-controlled shades must be open. The light reflected off her left hand and she took a moment to admire the brilliant shine of the diamond engagement ring which she wore there. She was thrilled that it fit her finger now. This was due in part to the excellent metabolism that her body had developed in order to nourish Calli and in part to the rigorous exercise routine she put herself through on a daily basis. Her body was _almost_ back to its pre-pregnancy state. Troy insisted that he liked her new curves, but Sharpay was sure it was just the big boobs that he liked and not the slight belly she still sported.

Engaged... she sighed inwardly. Sharpay still found that the most difficult part of her new life. Not that she didn't love Troy. On the contrary, she loved him with all her heart. And it wasn't the commitment part either. She was completely committed to him and now to their daughter. … But engaged? The moment people found out she was engaged, they had two reactions. The first was "Let me see the ring!" The second was "Have you set a date yet?!" While yes, those were the standard responses and Sharpay had never shrank away from the limelight, it was starting to become a bit much. No, they hadn't set a date yet because they had lives to lead, a new baby to raise, and brand new business to start --- all things that her mother … and Ryan did not understand. She thought sometimes, despite the dream of the huge weddingswith huge presents, that she and Troy would probably just drop Calli off with Ryan and Donny and elope to Vegas. Yes, that was it! They'd be married by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas. Now that was a plan.

Suddenly, she became aware of a low humming noise coming from the baby monitor on the dresser. Unable to ascertain the origins of the sound, Sharpay flung back the covers from her naked body, quickly pulled on her satin robe and padded across the floor and down the stairs.

The original plan was for Calli to move to her own room once she started sleeping longer, but Sharpay wasn't comfortable with her being so far away. Even with the aid of a baby monitor, she felt the first floor nursery wasn't close enough. Until tonight, she'd slept in a small bassinet which sat in the corner of the master bedroom. However, neither of them felt comfortable having the baby in the room when they re-consummated their relationship and therefore, Calli had slept her first night alone in her own room.

From her position on the stair landing, she saw Troy standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows which overlooked the Hudson River. She could tell from where she stood that he was holding Calli in his arms and she smiled to herself when she saw that he was slowly swaying back and forth while humming softly down to the baby.

She approached slowly, not wanting to disturb this private moment between father and daughter. Troy held the baby cradled in the crook of his arm and Calli was staring with wide eyes at the twinkling city lights. Sharpay couldn't tell what captivated Calli's attention more, the lights or Troy's deep voice.

"Hi."

He looked back at her and smiled. "Hi", he whispered.

"What are you two up to?"

"Well, Miss Calli, here, decided that she'd slept enough and we thought we'd let you sleep a little longer … especially after all the exercise we had earlier."

She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and laid her head against his broad back. "That's sweet."

"Yeah, that's the kinda guy I am", he said with a cocky pitch to his voice, but his eyes were riveted to his daughter who continued to be mesmerized by the twinkling of city lights reflecting off the river. He nodded solemnly. "Sharpay, I need to tell you something and I should have said this a long time ago. It's just … well, my life was stagnating before we ..." He paused as he searched for the right word.

"Hooked up?", she finished for him.

Troy said in a lecturing tone. "I wouldn't put it that way exactly. But, okay... hooked up... Anyway, I'm not good at expressing my feelings, but I wanted you to know that we belong together now … and … I'm nothing without you."

Sharpay looked puzzled for a minute and Troy thought at first that she hadn't heard him when she finally said, "That sounds oddly familiar." Troy looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes. "I got it!" Sharpay snapped her fingers and repeated, "I got it. Those lines are from an old Kelly Clarkson song. What was the name of that song? My Love … My Life … something like that."

"My Life Would Suck Without You", Troy admitted slowly.

Sharpay's eyes lit up. "That's it! Wow, I haven't thought of that song in years. I remember it had this really funny video where she was throwing her boyfriend's stuff out the window."

"Luckily, these windows don't open", he deadpanned.

"God, I love you. Who else would try to have a serious conversation with me by quoting lines from a ten year old pop song? You're wonderful."

"Not too cheesy?"

"I think it's very sweet. And besides... I know my life would definitely suck without you." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, causing the ever alert Calli to finally notice her mother's presence. "Uh, oh... I'm in trouble now. I'd better take her." She pulled away from Troy and prepared to take the baby. "You go back to bed and get some sleep; it'll be morning before long." She glanced out at the night sky which was already starting to lighten.

"Don't." He stopped her from taking Calli. "We'll all go back to bed together. We can put her between us."

"Great idea. Right where she belongs … with us."

**The End**

Gahhhh! I've done it again! Another sappy ending!

This is the chance for all you lovely ladies who wait until the end to comment. Go for it!

karazorel pm'd me with an excellent question. (darn her for being so observant)

she asked, "Taylor and Gabriela were real tight in the movie. As BFF's I doubt they would have drifted apart in college and end up on opposing ends. So, how did the BFF's end up drifting apart in such a way that Taylor had no problems making friends and even helping Sharpay even if it meant going head on with Gabriela?"

here's what I came up with...

you're absolutely right, dang it! i never really explained that, did i? here's what i didn't write (and should have): when 2 couples are friends and one of those couples break up, the other couple often finds it has to make a choice as to whom to continue their friendship. and in this case, i think troy was definitely the best bet. chad was privy to their baby-making woes and even if it wasn't said aloud, it probably wasn't hard for taylor and chad to put 2 and 2 together and realize that troy had the higher moral ground. plus, the directions that their careers took would constantly be putting them at opposition with each other. taylor worked for a socially liberal politician and gabriella worked for a money-grubbing, barely legal, law firm.

hope that clears that up and sorry I couldn't fit it into the story.

And hey, I've got myself a new betareader, karazorel. Yes, the same observant one. She's tough, but she's given me loads of excellent advise. She's also new to hsm fics and will be posting her own troypay story soon, so be on the look out for it.

Now for my next trick.... This next one is really big and it's going to take loads of research and (eek!) thought. I've signed up for National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo dot org) where you're supposed to write 50,000 words during the month of November and that basically constitutes your rough draft and gives you a place to start from. So you may not hear from me again until the end of December, but I will post a trailer for this one. I've never done that before, but there a lot of plot upfront and I don't want to lose people before it even starts. How's this for an endorsement: "The best time-traveling/ historical romance/adventure fanfiction to ever star the fictional characters of an original Disney motion picture."

Of course, I wrote it myself, so it's not much of an endorsement.


End file.
